US Military Releases Video of Controversial Air Strike
Jun 11 at 11:11pm by David
The American military PR department is in full swing countering claims by Pakistan that the Americans killed nearly a dozen Pakistani security forces on the Pak side of the border with Kunar Province.
While the Americans do not deny the attack, they say the strike killed Taliban fighters that had engaged coalition forces, for nearly an hour, from positions straddling the border. Tonight, the US military released a video of what they say is the attack.
UAV Video of Controversial Airstrike
Immersion Training at Camp Atterbury
Jun 10 at 10:10am by David
US troops heading overseas receive what is called, Immersion Training. Basically it’s where the troops are sent to a base that is set up with fake towns, roads and people that are made to resemble that unit’s impending area of operations.
The military even hires people of various ethnic groups that properly portray the civillian population. I was used once as a “CNN journalist”. The two main bases that a majority of troops pass through are Camp Shelby, Ms. and Camp Atterbury, In.
Here’s a quick story I made regarding this training as members of 3/116th, 29th Infantry Division, get ready for a yearlong KFOR tour in Kosovo.
This story originally aired, and belongs to, WSLS-Roanoke (NBC) in Oct. 2006.
Air Assault Training at Camp Atterbury
Jun 7 at 8:08pm by David
For the past several years, Camp Atterbury, Indiana, has been called on to help refresh and train soldiers, particularly National Guard soldiers, who are preparing to deploy overseas.
In this clip, tag along with members of 3/116th, 29th Infantry Division, as they practice an air assault and crowd control techniques just before leaving for a yearlong tour in Kosovo.
This story was shot and edited by David Tate on location in Indiana. It originally aired, and belongs to, WSLS-Roanoke (NBC) in Oct. 2006.
Garmser Grows Silent
Jun 6 at 2:02pm by David
After 35 straight days of combat, Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) are beginning to push ahead with civil affairs projects, as combat in Garmser has been on hold since June 1st. The Marines report more than 150 engagements since the fighting began.
Already, Afghan security forces are taking up positions around the newly liberated areas that will soon be handed over to them, and British forces, once the US Marines move on. When that will happen is still up in the air.
While fighting has slowed, the Marines are only about a third of the way through the more than one hundred villages that dot the Helmand River Valley, before the river veers west into neighboring Nimroz Province. A desert wasteland of roughly 25 kilometers separates the Helmand River Valley from Pakistan to the south.
More than 4000 families were displaced by the fighting, many of whom are beginning to return. British and Afghan forces have also held a jirga (meeting) with some 200 returning refugees, including more than 100 of whom are described as village elders. As the Marines move south, they’re putting together a census and working with locals to initiate humanitarian projects (picture above provided by 24 MEU).
The Fight for Garmser
In the early morning hours of April 28th, Marines assaulted Garmser district’s center, also called Garmser. Three Marine companies flooded the area by ground and through the air. The maneuver element of 24 MEU, Battalion Landing Team (BLT) 1/6, is made up of three infantry companies, two of which air assaulted into position southeast of Garmser as the battle unfolded. British forces, already in place in the center of town, coordinated with the Marines during the attack. Support for the force came from a British post about 10 miles west of Garmser called FOB Dwyer. Scottish forces based at the Garmser Agriculture college were also involved in the fight.
In all, the Marines claim to have killed more than 150 Taliban fighters while uncovering nearly 50 weapons caches. One Marine, a scout/sniper, was also killed with four others wounded.
A majority of Taliban forces, which continualy reinforced their fighters during the battle, are believed to have fled northwest toward Farah Province and south across the “Desert of Death” toward villages and refugee camps on the Pakistani-side of the border.
Coalition forces in Farah have been attacking those retreating forces, killing more than a hundred in a handful of decisive engagements. A U.S. Special Forces soldier was killed in that fighting.
What’s Next For 24 MEU?
When the Marines landed in Kandahar, they came with a laundry list of objectives, the first being Garmser. The town was used by the Taliban for a number of strategic reasons:
First, it was a hub for terrorists coming across from Pakistan into Afghanistan. Here they would be fitted with equipment, trained and then pressed into service against the British. Once they got experience under their belts, the fighters would then be sent to other areas of the country. While there are homegrown fighters among the ranks, foreigners, including Iranians, Arabs and a majority of Pakistanis make up their ranks.
Second, Garmser is a major hub for drug trafficing that supports the insurgency. The area’s best roads snake away from Garmser toward Farah and then onto Iran. This route is what the coalition believes is the main route that supplies Iran, and then Europe, with heroin from the world’s top-producing region.
Finally, the road that heads southeast out of Garmser, toward Pakistan, is the only viable road from the Helmand River Valley into Pakistan. The coalition believes this road is the primary route that supplies the region’s insurgency with weapons and supplies. This road is also the main focus of the Marines’ current assault. “This is an artery and we did not realize that when we squeezed that artery, it would have such an effect,” said First Lieutenant Mark Matzke, the executive officer of Charlie Company told the New York Times in late May.
What’s next for the Marines is now the big question. Since the 24th MEU relies on its air assets, which are based at Kandahar Air Field, operations will most likely remain in the Helmand, Kandahar, Oruzgan and Zabul Province areas. There is also a strong chance the Marines will find themselves in Farah Province where large areas of that province are under complete control of the Taliban. In particular, Bala Buluk and Bakwa districts are considered Taliban havens.
Wherever the Marines end up, it is a near guarantee that it will be wherever the largest concentration of Taliban are located in Regional Command South. The Marines are not in Afghanistan to hold ground, but are there to take as much ground as they can with the understanding it will be turned over to suffiicient, more permenant forces… providing those forces are available.
Soldier of Fortune Article Made Public
Jun 3 at 10:10am by David
The folks at Soldier of Fortune have decided to make my article public. So at the link below, read the story, behind the story, of how one artillery unit has helped shape the battlefield south of Baghdad, which includes the killing of top AQI commander, Abu Jurah!
Artillery Unit Smashes Combat Record
The Coalition “Spring Offensive” Across Afghanistan
Jun 2 at 11:11am by David
It isn’t clear just how much of May’s combat action was coordinated among allies, but what is clear is that the offensive initiated by various coalition forces, around the same time, has the Taliban taking heavy casualties as the fighting season picks up steam.
US/British Efforts in S. Helmand
June 1st - Allied forces launch another operation in Garmser as British troops seal the right flank of BLT 1/6, allowing the American Marines to push farther down the Helmand River valley toward the Pakistani border. The offensive, which is in the heart of the insurgency’s drug trade, is forcing Taliban fighters toward Farah Province to the west. The joint force retook the district center, in early May, killing as many as 150 Taliban during the course of more than 100 engagements.
Australian and Dutch Forces Push Deep Into Oruzgan
May 28th - A combined ISAF/Afghan force is driving deep into Oruzgan Province to stabilize the Baluchi Pass area, a region that has claimed a number of allied lives and is a know Taliban haven.
Norway Gets into the Fight in Baghdis Province
May 23rd - Norwegian forces, with support from Germany, launch a 10-day operation in Baghdis Province, killing as many as 50 insurgents.
June 2nd - ISAF airstrikes supporting Afghan Security Forces kill 55 insurgents in Baghdis Province.
Americans Keep Up the Pressure in Nuristan
US and Afghan forces air assault into the Gowerdesh Valley to regain control of a strategic bridge.
Regaining Control of Farah Province
US and Italian soldiers are reinforced through the summer by elements from a battalion of US Marines. 2/7 Marines started combat patrols in the province in early May. The Marines are tasked with helping train the police force across Regional Command South. A company of Marines is expected to deploy to Golestan district by late June. Farah is a province that has had a history of lawlessness and outright Taliban control.
Coalition forces in Farah are blocking retreating Taliban forces coming from Helmand:
May 24th - 12 Taliban are killed in Bala Buluk when a US/Afghan patrol came under fire. The two-hour fight also left two Afghan police dead.
May 28th - NATO airstrikes kill as many as 30 Taliban in Bala Buluk. Two Afghan policeman and one Afghan soldier are also killed.
May 29th - The coalition pressure continues to the south of Bala Buluk as they take Bakwa District back from the Taliban who have been in control almost a year. The fighting leaves more than 100 Taliban and one American dead.
Canada Launches a Major Effort in Kandahar
May 28th - Canadian soldiers launch a weeklong offensive into Zhari, Dand and Panjwaii districts, Kandahar Province, in an effort to disrupt insurgent bomb-making facilities. No Canadiens were killed even with troops being regularly engaged by the Taliban. 19 militants were killed, including Taleb leader Mullah Tor Agha, in the operation code named, “Rolling Thunder”.
US and Afghan Forces Retake District Center in Ghazni Province
May 30th - A joint US/Afghan force moved into Rashidan district to wrest control of the district center back from the Taliban. Four Afghan policemen were killed. Several are still missing.
US Marines, Brits Push the Fight in Southern Afghanistan
Jun 1 at 10:10pm by David
British troops moved into areas on the western flank of US Marines fighting in Garmser, allowing the Marines to continue their push south in a running battle with Taliban forces that the US commander on the ground describes as, “the most intense (fighting)”. Since the fighting began, Marines have been involved in more than 100 firefights.
The Hammer
Lt. Col. Pete Petronzio, commanding officer of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Force, says the fighting his combat element has seen is ”fairly consistent” since a combined US/British/Afghan force retook the district center, Garmser in an operation dubbed, “Asada Wosa”. The four day battle in early May was spearheaded by 1st Battalion, Sixth Marines, which killed an estimated 150 fighters, many of them foreign. Three Marines have died so far: Two, including the acting Command Sgt. Major, died in an IED attack on their convoy en route to Helmand Province on April 15th. A Marine sniper was also killed May 19th when he was hit by small arms fire.
The Marines, expecting to be in the area for just a few weeks before turning security over to the British and Afghans, are now pushing through a farming section of the district that runs some 40 kilometers long and 15 kilometers wide. More than 100 named villages are in the area of operations with hundreds of other smaller settlements spread throughout.
Coalition intelligence estimates that as many as 500 Taliban fighters are operating in Garmser, with scores coming into the battle as reinforcements.
A senior British general’s assessment of the current situation is the most optimistic military news to come out of Helmand Province since the war began. “We are not complacent and suggesting they (Taliban forces) do not have the capacity to regenerate, but they are very much off the frontfoot and licking their wounds.”, Brigadier Gordon Messenger told the London newspaper, The Guardian. Messenger’s assessment is that the remaining Taliban fighters are preparing defenses in Bakwa district, Farah Province, which shares Helmand’s northwest border.
The Anvil
The second element of the 2008 Afghan “surge force” is 2nd Battalion, Seventh Marine Regiment, First Marine Division. 2/7 is tasked with helping to secure Farah Province by providing hands-on training to the Afghan police force that is notoriously undermanned, under trained and outgunned. The Marines greatly bolster an often uncoordinated security force made up of US, Italian and Afghan Forces. 2/7 Marines will also work in other Regional Command South areas, in particular Helmand and Nimroz Provinces.
Dividends for the coalition are already paying off as more than 30 Taliban fighters were killed May 29th by coalition airstrikes in Bala Baluk district. The fighters were surrounded by coalition forces after being tracked retreating from the offensive in Helmand Province.
100 more Taliban fighters were reported killed during a two-day operation in Bakwa district, just south of Bala Baluk and bordering Helmand Province. An American Special Forces soldier was also killed.
“Green Hornets” Land in Roanoke
May 30 at 5:05pm by David
An MH-53 from the 20th Special Operations Squadron (SOS), also known as, “Green Hornets”, made a landing in Roanoke today. The unit, based in Florida, came to the Roanoke-area for training after a suggestion by a crew member who grew up nearby.
The MH-53 fleet is more than 40 years old and is being phased out over the next year. The unit will use various other aircraft to complete future missions, including the Osprey.
The Green Hornets will be in the Roanoke area for the next week working on insertion and extraction training in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Botetourt County. They’ll again deploy overseas later in the summer.
Tech. Sgt. Linwood Stull and his nephews, Nick and Tristen Miller, are featured in this story that aired on WSLS/NBC on May 30th, 2008.
Cannon Cockers Turn the Tide of Battle in South Baghdad
May 29 at 12:12pm by David
With additional firepower in the field during the U.S. surge strategy, that began in early 2007, artillery units are firing off more rounds than ever during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
My War
May 25 at 9:09pm by David
Since the attacks on America in 2001, I have spent more than 260 days, in either Iraq or Afghanistan, covering US troops and their allies in their counter-insurgency struggles.
As most of those familiar with my work know, I am primarily a videojournalist, but also enjoy taking a couple of still shots every once in a while as well. Recently, I have assembled my favorite pictures from these experiences in the expectation of putting together an exhibit. With that said, I would love to get some public involvement in this project and it doesn’t cost a dime.
Take a few minutes, look at these images and then let me know what your top-five pictures are. All you have to do is leave the list in the feedback for this post. While it seems trivial to you, I need to cut the number of images down and would love your help in doing just that. So on this Memorial Day, take a few minutes and help me out.
If any of these images strike a chord with you, please let me know. I will be offering these images to interested people in VERY limited quantities, in many cases, just one print will be released. You can contact me at my new email address: newsmanpm@yahoo.com
All funds raised through this effort are going to help me replace gear that has been destroyed over the past few years.
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