No Revisionist History Here.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
YouTube link to brick factory photos of RL Klika
Link of YouTube video slide show of the Brick Factory, composed of Klika images.
Civil Affairs Unit operating in May 2005 during OIF III
\RELEASE NUMBER: 050517-02
DATE POSTED: MAY 18, 2005
Civil affairs Soldiers support Balad Ruz MEDCAP
426th Civil Affairs Battalion Public Affairs
BALAD RUZ, Iraq (USASOC News Service, May 18, 2005) – Civil affairs Soldiers assigned to the 426th Civil Affairs Company B visited the Balad Ruz mayor’s office here and assisted with the Medical Civil Action Program (MEDCAP) May 11.
The 426th CA Co. B is an Army reserve special operations unit based out of Upland, Calif. and is currently deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Capt. Chris Chang, a civil affairs officer assigned to 426th CA Co. B, was attending a city council meeting when his team’s medic and civil affairs specialist volunteered to assist the 278th Regimental Combat Team’s medical staff with a MEDCAP.
A MEDCAP is a military program that provides basic medical attention to locals in need, said Chang.
“My primary job is as the civil affairs team medic, treating American soldiers, however when I see an opportunity where I can lend my skills to aid the Iraqi people I do,” said Sgt. Kelly Dawson, a civil affairs medic assigned to the 426th CA Co.
“Now I’m assisting the doctor on a regular basis, twice a week," Dawson continued. "We can’t always help everyone, but those we can I feel really good about. We even have sent a handful of Iraqis back to the United States for further treatment”
According to Dawson, approximately 100 people requested medical attention.
“My primary role today was to mingle with those waiting to be screened,” said Sgt. Melia Dewitt, a civil affairs Soldier assigned to the 426th CA Co. “I passed out stuffed animals to the children and tooth brushes and tooth paste to both the parents and children. The patients, especially women and children, are usually fascinated with me because I am female. The interpreters are usually tied up with the medics, so I communicate and answer their questions to the best of my abilities. Some things are universal, such as a smile”
426th CA Co. B is currently attached to the 411th Civil Affairs Battalion, an Army reserve special operations unit based out of Danbury, Conn. Both units are currently deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The units have distributed over 20,000 tons of school supplies, and scheduled over 1.6 billion dollars in reconstruction projects for the provinces of Salah ad Din, Diyala, Kirkuk, and As Sulaymaniyah.
The 411th CA Bn also holds the distinctions of being the first Civil Affairs Battalion to enter Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom, and the first to return for a second rotation.
-usasoc-
SSG Kelly on patrol, not sure if the same unit though. No basic load though indicates non-infantry. 210 rounds minimum and some grenades, first aid stuff etc is the norm, you might need it even if you do not want to carry it all.
American KIAs vic Balad Ruz Iraq, and it goes on and on
IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 203-08
March 13, 2008
DoD Identifies Army Casualties
The Department of Defense announced today the death of three soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died Mar. 10 in Balad Ruz, Iraq, of wounds suffered when their vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Hood, Texas.Killed were:
Sgt. Phillip R. Anderson, 28, of Everett, Wash.
Spc. Donald A. Burkett, 24, of Comanche, Texas.
Capt. Torre R. Mallard, 27, of Oklahoma.
Suicide-Vest attack kills 20, injures 9 (Balad Ruz)
Tuesday, 16 September 2008
UPDATE: The bomber was a male and not a female as previously reported. Also, the attack killed 20 and wounded nine.
Multi-National Corps – Iraq Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory APO AE 09342
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE RELEASE No. 20080917-01 Sept. 17, 2008
Suicide-Vest attack kills 20, injures 9
Multi-National Division – North PAO
BALAD RUZ, Iraq – A suicide vest attack in Balad Ruz, Iraq, was initially reported as a female bomber who killed 17 and wounded eight on Sept. 15, but the attack is now confirmed to have been a male bomber who killed 20 and wounded nine. The attack was conducted at a house near an Iraqi Police Station during the celebratory Iftar dinner in conjunction with the Ramadan holiday.
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Sunday, December 14, 2008
Blackhawk landing at Caldwell video
video link above.
Can't see much but it is what it is>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Jalula Iraq video, a funny look into one FOB and AO of sister SQDN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_yZQMlIOCg&feature=related
2nd video is below first
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mu2ZoqJ6oE&feature=related
so real!
2/278th RCT begins Ops Dec 2004 FOB Berstein
The Greeneville Sun December 16, 2004
278th Reported In Position In Tikrit's Province Of Iraq
By Bill Jones
Lt. Col. Frank McCauley, commander of the 278th Regimental Combat Team's Second Squadron, said via electronic mail on Wednesday that the remainder of his unit will arrive at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Bernstein in northern Iraq "in the next couple of days."
The 278th RCT's Second Squadron, which was based in Kingsport before the Tennessee Army National Guard's 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment was called to active duty earlier this year, includes a number of citizen-soldiers from Greeneville and Greene County.
Augmented by National Guard units from several other states during training at Camp Shelby, Miss., earlier this year, the 278th is now called a regimental combat team.
The unit began moving into Iraq from a base in Kuwait last weekend, driving about 450 miles to its area of operations in northeastern Iraq.
Lt. Col. McCauley reported on Wednesday about the Second Squadron's current activities in response to an electronic mail inquiry from a Greeneville Sun reporter.
He said Second Squadron soldiers had been providing security escorting for the 278th's heavier tracked vehicles, that are being hauled into Iraq from Kuwait on large trucks because of the distance involved.
"The convoy from Kuwait took two full days through some dangerous territory," Lt. Col McCauley wrote. "No incidents occurred, and we were provided air escort by Apache helicopters through the most dangerous areas."
He remarked that Second Squadron troops "are in good spirits and are currently becoming integrated with the outgoing unit," which, he said, is the 120th Infantry Battalion, 30th Armored Brigade, of the North Carolina Army National Guard.
"A Transfer of Authority ceremony will be held at the completion of all the tasks in the transition with the 120th," Lt. Col. McCauley wrote.
"This should occur in the next two to three weeks. That ceremony will signify that 2/278 (has) become totally responsible for our area of operations, which has a total population of about 150,000 Iraqi citizens."
Tuz, the Iraqi city near where Forward Operating Base Bernstein is located, is in the As Sulaymaniyah province of Iraq, Lt. Col. McCauley wrote. "The provincial capital is in Tikrit," the birthplace of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
Lt. Col. McCauley also reported that the remainder of the 278th RCT is in Iraq's Diyala province.
FOB Bernstein
FOB Bernstein, the base where the Second Squadron of the 278th RCT is located, is named in honor of the late U.S. Army 1st Lt. David R. Bernstein, 24, of Phoenixville, Pa.
The GlobalSecurity.Org Web site describes the area where FOB Bernstein is located as "a desolate, flat range of ankle-high shrubbery about 10 miles from the city of Tuz."
Lt. Bernstein was fatally wounded, along with Pfc. John Hart, on Oct. 18, 2003, according to the GlobalSecurity.Org Website.
Bernstein and Hart, both members of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade, were killed when their convoy came under attack from rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and machine gun fire, the Website said.
The two soldiers, according to the Website, were in the last vehicle of a quick-reaction force convoy and were cut off from the rest of their convoy when guerrilla fighters fired an RPG at their vehicle, causing the driver, Spc. Joshua Sams, to lose control.
After the vehicle crashed into a dirt berm (embankment), it came to a stop on top of Sams' arm, the Website stated.
Lt. Bernstein, although mortally wounded by a gunshot wound to the leg, then crawled over to Sams' side under direct fire, and pushed on the gas pedal with his hand, moving the vehicle forward off Sams' arm. Bernstein collapsed shortly afterward and died.
PFC Hart, who was seated in the back of the HUMVEE when the attack took place, had been killed in the initial RPG explosion, according to the Global Security Website.
Copyright © 2004 The New York Times Company
http://iraq.billhobbs.com/2005/11/downtown_jalula_iraq.html
Lance in Iraq blog of some 278th soldier who has a couple of photos of AO on it.