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Welcome to the Dawn Patrol, our daily roundup of information on the War on Terror and other topics - from the MilBlogs and various sources around the world. If you're a blogger, you can join the conversation. If you link to any of these stories, add a link to the Dawn Patrol too and your trackback will be added to the list. Hat Tips to the Dawn Patrol are greatly appreciated.
Updating - Refresh for updates.
Bedgets and Coffins -- [Kandahar Diary]
A BBIED (suicide bomber) walked into the middle of one of my convoys today, stuck in traffic on Route 1, and detonated. One guard KIA, 4 WIA (seriously). Not long after, a truck on another convoy tripped an IED - damaged vehicle, nil injuries - and my guard force travelling from here to Ghazni were contacted by fairly heavy small arms fire - thankfully, no injuries. The Int picture is building toward an inescapable conclusion: the Taliban are significantly stepping up operations against ISAF contracted convoys, probably as a precursor to a determined stance against the expected ISAF offensive here in Kandahar in June...
Daily brief: 3 explosions strike Kandahar -- [AFPak Channel/Foreign Policy]
The drumbeat grows louder: Two blasts within a minute rattled downtown Kandahar earlier today, one reportedly targeting the city's police chief, and two hours later a third attack hit north of the city (AP, Pajhwok, BBC, CNN). Two civilians were killed and three others, including an Afghan policeman, were wounded. On Sunday morning, the 12th assassination in two months left the brother of an Afghan senator dead (NYT). Ahead of major coalition operations in the southern Afghan province, elite U.S. Special Operations Forces are "picking up or picking off" Taliban leaders in order to weaken the insurgency; the overt parts of the offensive are expected to begin "in coming weeks" (NYT).
On Sunday morning, around 100 Afghan protesters burned 12 NATO trucks carrying fuel to a base in eastern Afghanistan, objecting to two raids by joint U.S.-Afghan forces...
Elite U.S. Units Step Up Effort in Afghan City Before Attack -- [New York Times]
Small bands of elite American Special Operations forces have been operating with increased intensity for several weeks in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan's largest city, picking up or picking off insurgent leaders to weaken the Taliban in advance of major operations, senior administration and military officials say...
U.N. keeps Kandahar staffers home after 'threats' -- [CNN/Afghanistan Crossroads]
Unspecified "threats" have forced the United Nations in Afghanistan's second biggest city to order its local staff to stay home until further notice.
The order involves more than 200 Afghan employees in Kandahar. Several foreign staffers have been moved to the capital, Kabul.
The action follows what a U.N. source said were "threats against the U.N. operation in Kandahar."
In recent months, violence in the city has escalated...
Moosa-Man is coming! -- [MOB 2009 Blog]
Well, today the last of the skateboards came and I was able to give them to the kids.
First off, I want to personally thank my wonderful Soldier's Angels (Lil' Sis and Granny) who provided the skateboards for the kids. They were great and the kids will wear the little wheels off of them before they give them up!
Some troops see closure of base as a symbolic end to their time in Iraq -- [Michael Gisick/Stars and Stripes]
FORWARD OPERATING BASE SUMMERALL, Iraq -- Memorials for fallen U.S. soldiers used to stand amid the sand and trailers of this sprawling base in northern Iraq like signposts.
Their names were written on concrete blast walls. The gym, the dining hall, the recreation center -- all were named after someone.
But as troops here and at dozens of other bases across the country close down their posts or turn them over to the Iraqi military amid a summerlong thinning of forces, the memorials are one more thing that has to go...
"I was here in 2003 when we had nothing and were living in trucks," said Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Zuniga. "The next tour we were building all these bases, and now we're giving them all away. What that means to me is that I probably won't be coming back to Iraq, and that's a relief."
Iraqi Cleric Calls on Followers to Defend Against Attacks -- [Voice of America]
An influential Shi'ite cleric in Iraq is urging followers to defend Shi'ite communities after a series of blasts killed at least 69 people throughout Iraq Friday.
The most deadly attacks targeted Shi'ite neighborhoods and mosques in Baghdad's Sadr city, where a movement led by anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is based.
Sadr released a statement late Friday calling on his followers to form brigades within the police force and army to defend their places of worship, homes and communities. Sadr said they must not rely on U.S. forces in Iraq to defend themselves.
Iraq's Sadr clarifies stance on militia's use -- [LA Times]
After a follower of Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr vowed to dispatch militia members to defend Iraqi mosques in the wake of a series of deadly bombings, a statement from Sadr that was widely distributed Saturday made it clear that the Mahdi Army would be reactivated only if the government accepted the offer.
90,000 Protest U.S. Base on Okinawa -- [NY Times]
The demonstrators, in one of the largest protests on Okinawa in years, demanded that Mr. Hatoyama scrap a 2006 agreement with the United States to move the Futenma Marine Corps Air Station to a different site on the island. Many of the protesters wore yellow to signal they were giving Mr. Hatoyama a warning for appearing to waver on election promises to move the busy base off Okinawa altogether.
Good camp, bad camp: The shortfalls of Haiti aid -- [AP/Stars and Stripes]
CROIX-DES-BOUQUETS, Haiti -- You name it, Camp Corail has got it. And Camp Obama does not.
The organized relocation camp at Corail-Cesselesse has thousands of spacious, hurricane-resistant tents on groomed, graded mountain soil. The settlement three miles (four kilometers) down the road - named after the U.S. president in hopes of getting attention from foreigners - has leaky plastic tarps and wooden sticks pitched on a muddy slope.
2 Chicago state reps: Bring in the National Guard -- [Chicago Breaking News]
Two state representatives called on Gov. Pat Quinn Sunday to deploy the Illinois National Guard to safeguard Chicago's streets.
Chicago Democrats John Fritchey and LaShawn Ford said they want Quinn, Mayor Richard Daley and Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis to allow guardsmen to patrol streets and help quell violence...
So far this year, 113 people have been killed across Chicago, the same number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan combined in the same period, Fritchey said.
Military cancels nuclear attack test -- [Washington Times]
U.S. Northern Command in Colorado withdrew from major participation in this month's National Level Exercise (NLE), a large-scale drill that tests whether the military and the Department of Homeland Security can work with local governments to respond to an attack or natural disaster.
The exercise was canceled recently after the planned site for a post-nuclear-attack response -- Las Vegas -- pulled out in November, fearing a negative impact on its struggling business environment.
A government official involved in NLE planning said a new site could not be found. The official also said the Northern Command's exercise plans for "cooping" -- continuity of operations, during which commanders go to off-site locations -- also had been scratched.
"All I know is it's been turned into garbage," said the official, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the information...
More American Expatriates Give Up Citizenship -- [NY Times]
Amid mounting frustration over taxation and banking problems, small but growing numbers of overseas Americans are taking the weighty step of renouncing their citizenship...
One Swiss-based business executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of sensitive family issues, said she weighed the decision for 10 years. She had lived abroad for years but had pleasant memories of service in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Yet the notion of double taxation -- and of future tax obligations for her children, who will receive few U.S. services -- finally pushed her to renounce, she said.
"I loved my time in the Marines, and the U.S. is still a great country," she said. "But having lived here 20 years and having to pay and file while seeing other countries' nationals not having to do that, I just think it's grossly unfair."
"It's taxation without representation," she added.
..."It seems the new anti-terrorist rules are having unintended effects," Daniel Flynn, who lives in Belgium, wrote in a letter quoted by the Americans Abroad Caucus in the U.S. Congress in correspondence with the Treasury Department.
"I was born in San Francisco in 1939, served my country as an army officer from 1961 to 1963, have been paying U.S. income taxes for 57 years, since 1952, have continually maintained federal voting residence, and hold a valid American passport."
Mr. Flynn had held an account with a U.S. bank for 44 years. Still, he wrote, "they said that the new anti-terrorism rules required them to close our account because of our address outside the U.S."
'Suicide bomber' targets British Ambassador to Yemen -- [Time (UK) Online]
The British Ambassador to Yemen was targeted by a suicide bomber in the capital, Sanaa, today. but escaped unharmed, officials said...
"The failed terrorist attack that targeted the British Ambassador in Sanaa carries the fingerprints of al-Qaeda," said the Yemeni Interior Ministry in a statement.
The Stanley purge -- [Tom Ricks]
I'm hearing that the new Pentagon under secretary of Defense for personnel, Clifford Stanley, is defenestrating people left and right. Latest to get the heave, yesterday, was Noel Koch, the guy who was running the Wounded Warrior program.
Anyone wanna shed some light on what is going on?
Pentagon Wounded Warrior care official forced out -- [AP/Stars and Stripes]
...Koch said he believes the decision was unjust and that he resigned "under duress" after Stanley told him he had no confidence in him. The Pentagon had no comment.
"No explanation was given, although I pressed for one," he said. "No prior indication of dissatisfaction with the work of this office was cited."
Koch said the wounded warrior program has done good work during the past 11 months since his appointment to lead the new office.
Nearly nine years of war, in Afghanistan and Iraq, has physically, mentally and emotionally battered the military, sending thousands home with severe injuries and spawning spikes in suicides and post-traumatic stress issues.
Officials have scrambled to set up transition units to help wounded troops recover and return to society or even the military, but the flood of patients and the complexities of their injuries have often overwhelmed the system.
Feeling Warehoused in Army Trauma Care Units -- [NY Times]
Created in the wake of the scandal in 2007 over serious shortcomings at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Warrior Transition Units were intended to be sheltering way stations where injured soldiers could recuperate and return to duty or gently process out of the Army. There are currently about 7,200 soldiers at 32 transition units across the Army, with about 465 soldiers at Fort Carson's unit.
But interviews with more than a dozen soldiers and health care professionals from Fort Carson's transition unit, along with reports from other posts, suggest that the units are far from being restful sanctuaries. For many soldiers, they have become warehouses of despair...
Iraq war veteran may be denied citizenship -- [LA Times]
Just five days before Ekaterine Bautista planned to become an American citizen, she got a call from the federal government: Her swearing-in ceremony had been canceled pending further investigation.
Bautista was devastated. An illegal immigrant from Mexico, she had served six years in the U.S. military -- including a 13-month tour of duty in Iraq -- and was eligible to apply for naturalization under a decades-old law...
2-star receives new job after DUI arrest -- [Air Force Times]
A two-star general faces a charge of drunken driving while at an Air Force conference in Las Vegas, a misdemeanor filed six weeks before he received another top assignment at Air Force Materiel Command headquarters.
Maj. Gen. David W. Eidsaune is scheduled to appear May 13 in municipal court in Henderson, Nev., a Las Vegas suburb. If convicted of driving under the influence, Eidsaune could be sentenced to up to six months in jail and fined up to $1,000.
...Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz knows of the arrest, said spokeswoman Lt. Col. Adriane Craig.
"Air Force leadership was aware of the situation regarding Major General Eidsaune and appropriate action was taken," she said.
Just "some veteran" with TBI/PTSD -- [Hooah Wife]
When I first met Tim in 2009 he was thrilled to be in the study as his whole adult life had been with the Army and all he wanted was to continue on this path. He was looking for anything to help him overcome his TBI/PTSD and get on with his career of over 20 plus years in the Army. The treatment Tim received locally was Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) .
TBI: What it is, who it affects, what is being done -- [Burn Pit/The American Legion]
...Go and read the rest of the story over at Greta's place, but The American Legion will be working with Tim and his family as best we can to see that he doesn't lose his house and spend his life in poverty on account of defending our freedoms.
Like I said though, there is hope. I don't know enough about hyperbaric chambers and other treatments to do any of that discussion any justice. Just last night the House Armed Services Committee, Military Personnel Subcommittee [met] to receive testimony on implementation of the requirement to provide a medical examination before separating members diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and the capacity of the Department of Defense to provide care to PTSD cases...
Another group that is working on this issue that deserves note is the "Defense Centers of Excellence For Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury"...
Michael Yon is a Dick (and so was I) -- [Matt Gallagher]
When I posted this in 2008, I was in the same state. Exhausted. Strung out. Convinced no one cared about the war effort except me and those immediately around me. Sure, my post had some good points, but that doesn't mean I should have posted it. Yon may very well be right about General McChrystal (though I doubt it - everyone I know who works/worked for him is convinced he's a national treasure), but he of all people knows the power of the internet. I mocked middle management and bureaucracy. He's calling into question the leadership and prowess of our top man in the war. For all the flag-waving and chest-beating that usually peppers Yon's words, this sudden 180 screams of a burnout desperate for attention, and even more desperate for a break.
...My mid-tour leave in the Mediterranean cured a lot of my ills (the dickish ones and otherwise) back in 2008. Strolls along the beach, beers in the park, and a lot of sleep. Here's hoping Yon gets some of the same soon, and then returns back to his actual job in Afghanistan - war reporting.
This note... -- [Mike Yon]
Although I am not really tracking it, I understand that a number of milbloggers, including the Black Five gang (and some I haven't heard of), are providing their psychoanalytical ...services and kindly advising me to leave Afghanistan and stop reporting on the war. Maybe I should thank them for their internet psychology services and their concern...
It is somewhat coincidental that they are questioning my credibility and strongly pushing me to leave Afghanistan--for my own good, of course--just as I fully engage with the PAO and powers that be in an effort to keep McChrystal from controlling, restricting and manipulating the information flow from Afghanistan....... Is this a random coincidence? Lucky for everyone I feel great, don't plan on going anywhere soon, and will continue to tell the about what I see and hear.
Looking for reports -- [Mike Yon]
McChrystal's actions have underlined what I was starting to tell officers and NCOs, who mostly agreed with me that McChrystal can't handle this war. Experienced people have contacted me and asked me to keep the fire on McChrystal. (Menard is already dead in the water.) I can say with certainty that some of McChrystal's orders are being disregarded. McChrystal controls embeds. Embeds and access are separate matters. McChrystal has zero control over access. My access is extreme and wide. And with that, it can be said that units in various provinces are disregarding McChrystal's ROE and believe he is not acting in the best interest of our troops. Officers are disregarding orders from McChrystal. (I am not a journalist and will not provide evidence....)
Heard weapon cock -- [Mike Yon]
Heard weapon cock and so went to staircase to fire down. Good man just told me all good. Another day here.
Interesting messages continue to flood in: -- [Mike Yon]
--EMAIL---
From what I have heard, Canadian BG Menard fired more than 1 round. The high profile person in his presence was the Canadian 4 star general. This is a stupid investigation, however. Worst kept secret at TF K is BG Menard's adulturous affairs with female soldiers at KAF under his command. This is a distracted and selfish commander. He should not be leading troops who are sacrificing everything.
Gunshot. -- [Mike Yon]
Gunshot. Very close. No shouts or screams. Just gunshot close. Otherwise, Jalalabad is okay.
New Dawn -- [Richard S. Lowry]
Richard tells the stories of the men and women who fought to clear Fallujah, Iraq's most violent city. This is no ordinary historical account. Richard provides gripping narratives of individual sacrifice and valor while documenting the battle for military historians. He weaves a page-turning story that will educate and entertain in a style reminiscent of Cornelius Ryan's Longest Day...
Bush Memoir Set for November Release -- [ABC News]
The much-awaited memoir of former President George W. Bush is set to be published Nov. 9 -- just a week after congressional elections where his party expects to make significant gains.
"Decision Points" is being billed by its publisher as a "groundbreaking new brand of memoir," with Bush exploring what he considers to be the 14 "most critical and historic decisions in the life and public service of the 43rd President of the United States."
...More from the new release from Crown:
"Since leaving the Oval Office, President Bush has given virtually no interviews or public speeches about his presidency. Instead, he has spent almost every day writing Decision Points, a strikingly personal and candid account revealing how and why he made the defining decisions in his consequential presidency and personal life.
"In gripping, never-before-heard detail, President Bush brings readers inside the Texas Governor's Mansion on the night of the hotly contested 2000 election; aboard Air Force One on 9/11 in the gripping hours after America's most devastating attack since Pearl Harbor; inside the Situation Room in the moments before launching the war in Iraq; and behind the Oval Office desk for his historic and controversial decisions on the financial crisis, Hurricane Katrina, Afghanistan, Iran, and other issues that have shaped the first decade of the 21st century.
How Insurgencies End -- [Ben Connable, Martin C. Libicki /RAND]
This study tested conventional wisdom about how insurgencies end against the evidence from 89 insurgencies. It compares a quantitative and qualitative analysis of 89 insurgency case studies with lessons from insurgency and counterinsurgency (COIN) literature. While no two insurgencies are the same, the authors find that modern insurgencies last about ten years and that a government's chances of winning may increase slightly over time...
Why Does Special Forces Train and Educate for Unconventional Warfare? -- [Colonel David S. Maxwell/Small Wars Journal]
There is tremendous emotion, misunderstanding and just plain baggage surrounding Unconventional Warfare (UW). Most discussions revolve around the definition itself with little understanding of the breadth and scope of what UW entails. However, since most who discuss UW are only concerned with the words in the definition and do not delve into the intellectual foundation of UW, this short paper will seek to explain and interpret the words in the definition and answer the questions in the title. The USSOCOM approved definition for UW is: "Activities conducted to enable a resistance movement or insurgency to coerce, disrupt or overthrow a government or occupying power by operating through or with an underground, auxiliary and guerrilla force in a denied area."
Tactical tribal engagement -- [Gunslinger/Ink Spots]
While I'm posting today, I'd like to draw your attention to a piece that Abu Muqawama and I put together on tribal engagement at the tactical level. This abbreviated planning framework was the result of our discussions in the tactical working group at the Tribal Engagement Workshop that the boys at Small Wars Journal put together...
Rubber bullets are not magic bullets -- [Gunslinger/Ink Spots]
...in my tours in Iraq, I never had non-lethal weapons and I never once thought to myself, "Boy, I wish I had some non-lethal weapons to diffuse this situation." Ever.
The Future of American Combat Aviation: FUBAR? -- [Danger Room]
The future of American combat aviation is wrapped up in a single jet, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. And right now, that future is looking pretty damn cloudy, with skyrocketing costs, missed deadlines, and slowed production rates.
...If you're not familiar with the F-35 saga -- and even if you are -- this primer segment from PBS' News Hour is worth watching.
Pew report says Air Force is going green -- [Air Force Times]
The Air Force has cut its energy consumption by 20 percent in the past six years, but it still has work to do, according to a new report from the Pew Charitable Trusts.
...As the military's biggest energy consumer, the Air Force is leading Defense Department efforts to rely more on "clean" energy and to spend less on conventional energy sources. Thirty-seven Air Force bases now draw at least part of their power from renewable energy sources, according to the report.
From solar power plants to tests on biofuels for jets, green initiatives are sprouting up across the Air Force.
Some examples...
Congress should be abetted in probing the Fort Hood massacre -- [Washington Post Editorial]
...This classic tug of war is playing out now in a dispute between the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and the Obama administration over the panel's investigation into last fall's shooting at Fort Hood, Tex. The committee's chairman and ranking Republican, respectively Sens. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Susan Collins (Maine), have taken the dramatic step of subpoenaing the Defense and Justice departments. The committee is looking into what advance warning the Army or others had about the risks posed by the accused Fort Hood shooter, Maj. Nidal M. Hasan.
65 years ago today... -- [Castle Argghhh]
...Steiner won't save him, thankfully giving us hundreds of "Fuehrerbunker Parody Videos" courtesy the movie Downfall and YouTube - a most appropriate epitaph for the monster. The Red Army, driving over the bones of millions of their own, East European, and German dead, reach the Elbe, where they meet elements of the US Army headed east, most famously at Torgau.
Caption Contest (Go Go Girl Edition) -- [Castle Argghhh]
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