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Welcome to the Dawn Patrol, our ongoing roundup of information on the war and other topics - from the MilBlogs and various sources around the world.
Updating - Refresh for updates.
Kabul to meet you -- [Afghani Dan - in Afghanistan]
That would be the flag of the United States Marine Corps high over the multinational camp at Kabul's airport...naturally, among the flags of other nations with contingents here. Yep, that's jes' how we roll. Here's more from my first day in the capital...
A Can of Coke and a Close Recce -- [Kandahar Diary - in Afghanistan]
...As the worker and his partner glanced at them, one of the three men accidentally dropped his blanket from his shoulder to reveal chest rigging and AK magazines...
Campaign Season, 2010 -- [Knights of Afghanistan - in Afghanistan]
Now that it's June, the campaign season for 2010 is fully upon us. Not that the bad guys waited for June, they actually got started a little earlier with a series of high-profile attacks across the country just to remind everyone that they're still here.*
*Not that anyone had really forgotten...
Jalala-Not So Bad and Not So Good -- [Free Range International - in Afghanistan]
Security incident rates around Afghanistan are skyrocketing and this year it appears that Jalalabad is, for the first time, going to get its fair share of attention. This unfortunate fact is forcing outside the wire implementers to spend an inordinate amount of time tea drinking and jaw jacking with various local officials and ISAF people in order to get a handle on just how safe we are. My assessment? We're in for a bad summer...
1st Recon to aid in Marjah fight -- [Marine Corps Times/Dan Lamothe - in Afghanistan]
CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan -- The Marine Corps will send elite reconnaissance Marines to the former Taliban stronghold of Marjah to buttress combat operations already underway by two conventional infantry battalions there, a top officer here said.
..."First Recon, before they even left [the U.S.], were training in more of a ground combat-type of role," Osterman told Marine Corps Times...
Flag ceremony marks new command and control structure in southern Afghanistan -- [Defence News (UK)]
Changes to the command and control of ISAF forces in southern Afghanistan that sees the current Regional Command (South) split in two come into force today, Tuesday 1 June 2010.
The changes, which were announced on 21 May, are based on the military advice of ISAF commanders on the ground and reflect a number of significant changes over recent months...
Maybe the CF could stay in Afstan post-2011 after all -- [The Torch]
Looks like some politicos may be getting reasonable; a ball with considerable pressure may end up in grumpy Stephen's court--can he do a 180? From Matthew Fisher of Canwest News...
Afstan: Brits de-wobble, eventual shift to Kandahar still possible? -- [The Torch]
But don't always put that much stock in The Economist's musings: The wars over the war
A new government gets to grips with another foreign-policy priority
...Officials said the Chequers meeting was not a "review" of policy, but only a "seminar" intended to "take stock". Mr Cameron, it is said, told the gathering that his government was not about to change course, and would support America's war. On the same day, the prime minister called the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, for what officials say was a "warm" talk about the "peace jirga" being held in Kabul, and about preparations for military operations in Kandahar...
"Restrepo" - from The Kitchen Dispatch -- [FaST Surgeon (in Afghanistan)]
Most of these men and women start off just out of high-school and get injected into Army "medic school". They are the 2nd most common specialty (68W) in the Army (the most common is 11B - Infantry). Once they're trained up, they're pushed out into some of the most intensely challenging life-and-death scenarios most of us can never imagine. We ask them to be "docs" in the field. Its a heck of a thing to ask of someone so young. They continually strive to learn as much as they can, as fast as they can. They meet the challenge. So once again - Here's to the combat medic. Hooah.
The things they carry in Afghanistan -- [Denver Post/David Fennell - in Afghanistan]
David Fennell of Littleton is a major in the U.S. Marine Corps. He is stationed in Marjah, Afghanistan, as head of the Civil Affairs Group there. Before that, he served a tour in Iraq. His father, Denny, asked David to sum up his experiences as he nears the end of his deployment.
Although I've gotten used to things around here, this place can wear on you. Don't get me wrong, I truly believe in our mission and its importance to both the Afghan people and security back home. Still, southern Afghanistan is a hard place.
The question Marines ask themselves most when talking with folks back home is "Where do I start?" There are no easy answers.
Sand, moon dust, terrain, weather, enemy...
Memorial -- [Rajiv Srinivasan - in Afghanistan]
My Platoon Sergeant and I saunter behind the massive formation of Attack Company soldiers heading towards the Chapel on FOB Ramrod. Heads hang low under a somber overtone. There are no drums to synchronize our steps; we march only to the beats of our heavy hearts. The chapel is a hideous building with tawdry colors and chipped paint. A large gravel patch forms a courtyard outside the chapel's entrance. Around its edges are twelve Strykers, stylistically postured to add a military touch to the scene and create a closed setting in the Kandahar desert...
Memorial Day Weekend -- [Ramblings from a Painter - just back from Iraq]
Now it's the Memorial Day weekend. I observed it a few days ago, on the 25th. That's the anniversary of the date that two of my friends were killed in Fallujah by a roadside bomb. I had never had any friends lose their lives during my career in the Navy, so Memorial Day was a meaningful but not personal event. Now it's personal, and for me it will always be on May 25th...
Catching up with ... Hot Wheels -- [Matt Gallagher/Kerplunk]
One of the soldiers I'll be thinking of is Corporal Matt Wheeler - known as Hot Wheels in the Kaboom universe - a Gravedigger critically injured in a 2008 fire during our deployment to Iraq. Still at the Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San Antonio, Texas, where he's preparing to receive his honorable discharge, Wheels was kind enough to answer some questions for the interwebz.
The last many readers heard from you, was June 2008, after you got hurt. Walk us through your recovery process since then - where have you been, who have you worked with, and how has the experience gone for you?
A Farewell to the Green Zone -- [Anthony Shadid/NY Times/At War]
Perhaps it is inevitable, the way momentous beginnings have small endings.
The destruction of the Salam Palace was big, wrecked by the Americans as they invaded in 2003 and established the Green Zone. With the yet-to-be-rebuilt palace as its backdrop, the ceremony Tuesday to mark the formal American withdrawal from the last checkpoints it helped staff in the zone was a subdued affair...
Drawdown in Iraq: The Lights Are Going Out -- [Eric Rudie/NY Times/At War]
There's an eerie silence settling over our Forward Operating Base. The generators are shutting down one by one, and every night there are fewer lights.
The hundreds of people that made the base a cozy, bustling, American outpost have left, taking their equipment with them, leaving only abandoned buildings. Our unit is the last out, manning the guard towers, defending a quiet shell. In a few days, we'll turn the lights out at our command post, our battalion commander will make a short speech and shake hands with an Iraqi general, and we'll get in our waiting trucks and drive away.
Until that time, we have the place to ourselves. Or we would, if it weren't for the imagined presences that haunt any place that was once alive, but is now deserted and quiet...
Remembering Iraq -- [Henry Brewster/NY Times/At War]
Reports from Baghdad after a coordinated attack by Al Qaeda on May 10 were grim. The bombing was the latest in a series of large-scale attacks by Sunni extremists that began last August after a long and uneasy period of relative peace in the capital. The news of this and the previous attacks held importance for me. For nearly a year, my men and I patrolled areas fewer than ten miles from where Iraqi emergency personnel sifted through the smoldering remains...
DOD Identifies Army Casualty -- [Defense News]
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Spc. Stanley J. Sokolowski, III, 26, of Ocean, N.J. died May 20 in Kirkuk, Iraq, in a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.
DOD Identifies Army Casualty -- [Defense News]
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Staff Sgt. Amilcar H. Gonzalez, 26, of Miami, Fla., died May 21 in Ash Shura, Iraq, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.
DOD Identifies Army Casualty -- [Defense News]
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Maj. Ronald W. Culver Jr., 44, of Shreveport, La., died May 24 in Numaniyah, Iraq, when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, Shreveport, La.
DOD Identifies Army Casualty -- [Defense News]
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Pfc. Alvaro R. Regalado Sessarego, 37, of Virginia Beach, Va., died May 30 at Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, of injuries sustained April 18 from a non-combat related incident at Dahuk, Iraq. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.
NKorean Official Says War Possible at 'Any Moment' -- [NY Times]
A senior Pyongyang official has warned that the Korean peninsula could see ''all-out war'' as tensions mount from North Korea's believed sinking of a South Korean warship.
North Korea's deputy ambassador in Geneva, Ri Jang Gon, accuses Washington and Seoul of causing the crisis...
U.S. Commander Says Korea War Unlikely But Prepared -- [Reuters/NY Times]
Admiral Robert Willard, head of the U.S. Pacific Command, said there were no signs North Korea was preparing a nuclear test or moving troops toward the South, a major U.S. ally.
"Right now we're not seeing indications that North Korea is intending the next provocation," Willard told reporters in Singapore on the sidelines of a major security conference.
"The rhetoric from North Korea is not unusual..."
Canadian general sacked for hanky-panky within the rankys -- [Starbuck/Wings Over Iraq]
A few months ago, military blogger Michael Yon leveled a number of accusations against Canadian Brigadier General Daniel Bernard, the commander of Canadian (and a contingent of American) forces in Southern Afghanistan. Among them were accusations of an improper relationship with a subordinate soldier...
First woman picked to lead carrier air wing -- [Navy Times]
Cmdr. Sara Joyner, who was selected for promotion to captain, is the first women selected to head a Carrier Air Wing, according to Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead
Roughead made the announcement Thursday at the 23rd annual Women's Leadership Symposium in Washington.
Announcing my
latest project: -- [The Returned Warrior/Sgt Danger]
Three weeks ago, I left Afghanistan. I signed my DD214, flew home to Utah, walked into my living room, played with my kids, and then slept with my wife. I'm no longer SGT Danger. I'm Drew, Brother Dangerfield, and Daddy. Instead of escorting Afghan truckers or guarding plots of dirt, I've been eating at Del Taco, pulling weeds, visiting my shrink, and planning a family road trip. The transition to the 'real world' - all 22 days of it, so far - has been just fine.
But returning from a combat zone is not like waking up from a dream...
Goodbye Deployment Mode! -- [Semper Fi Wife/SpouseBuzz]
This morning as I was going through emails, my daily blog reads and facebook updates, the doorbell rang. Unexpectedly. And for a moment, my heart raced as I pictured a Marine in dress blues standing there.
Then I remembered. The Dark Prince was upstairs sleeping and NOT in Afghanistan.
I think, just as it takes us a little while to get into the mode, it takes time to get out of it...
Forscom Chief Retires After 40 years -- [Defense News/AFPS]
FORT McPHERSON, Ga. , June 3, 2010 - After 40 years of service dating back to the Vietnam War, Gen. Charles C. "Hondo" Campbell, commander of U.S. Army Forces Command, will relinquish his command and retire today during a ceremony here.
Campbell took over the Army's largest command Jan. 9, 2007, becoming Forscom's 17th commander. When he turns over command and steps into retirement, another chapter in the legacy of the Vietnam War comes to a close, because Campbell is the last continuously-serving general officer who saw action in Vietnam to leave active duty.
Veterans' job numbers improve in May -- [Rick Maze/Military Times]
The job market for veterans appears to be improving, with the veterans' unemployment rate falling to 7.8 percent in May, down from 9.1 percent in April.
Younger veterans -- those discharged since 2001 -- continue to have a higher unemployment rate that the national average...
I Hate to Love Blogging (and Love to Hate it) (and such) -- [Matt Gallagher/Kerplunk]
...I mean, Christ, I owe my entire writing career (whatever that means) to blogging and the benefits of reaching a mass audience instantaneously. Write quick, descriptive pieces, then move on to the next one when something happens worth telling. And that style worked for Kaboom, even in book form, because war is nothing else but a collection of insane episodes that shouldn't - and don't - fit together. Don't trust a combat memoir that flows too smoothly - fa rizzle.
But as I've taken up the keyboard again...
Change Step, March! -- [Red Bull Rising]
It's been a few years since Sherpa had to concern himself with spit-and-polish problems such as calling the cadence, drill and ceremony, and marching up and down the square. Still, in shifting my battle-blogging rhythm in preparation for field duty, I was reminded of a little trick from Army Field Manual 22-5 (now renamed FM 3-21.5).
The trick is the change-step...
LT Wompum Will No Longer Be Blogging -- [Sosostris/A Handful of Dust]
The title says it all. Rest assured he is fine and well and still serving in Afghanistan but unfortunately he has been told to stop blogging...
Meet LT Gorman -- [Sosostris/A Handful of Dust]
In an effort to replace LT Wompum who was forced to take a hiatus, we have recruited another Army infantry officer currently serving in Afghanistan to take his place...
Film Review: Restrepo -- [The Kitchen Dispatch]
The movie ended, but I couldn't move. Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington had just taken the mantle from Ken Burns as documentary makers extraordinaire with Restrepo. This war documentary is a gripping chronicle of the lives of a platoon through some of the heaviest fighting in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan.
"You can't tame the beast," shouts the late PFC Juan Restrepo, the late Army medic for the 2/503 Battle Company, 173rd Airborne. He says this with the bravado one would expect of a twenty year old, early on in the filming. It's the beast within, which binds this platoon as they set to deploy to place described by CPT Dan Kearney as "where the road ends and the Taliban begins."...
Review: Restrepo -- [Red Bull Rising]
Our unit's public affairs officer wanted a couple of Joes' reactions to the film, to see whether they thought it a potentially useful pre-deployment learning tool for our Red Bull soldiers. We've got a good mix of experiences and specialties in the TOC, he knew, and certainly no shortage of opinions.
About 90 minutes later, even the combat veterans among us called the film "eye-opening."
Trending Positive -- [Afghan Quest - in Afghanistan]
A couple of commenters on the post "Trending Positive" deserve answers. I'm going to take them in logical instead of chronological order. So the first question is, "Is this (COIN) what we our troops should be doing?".
Yes. The why of it requires an answer that spans a number of subjects ranging from the purpose of having armed forces to the dangers of foreign national/regional instability in the era of globalization. We have, in part, created this very situation with our own might. By that I don't mean that our various "nefarious plots" are coming home to roost. I mean that we are too strong for others to take on toe-to-toe with any reasonable assurance of possible success.
Insurgents are not insurgents because they always aspired to be insurgents. They are insurgents out of weakness in the face of vastly superior physical strength...
CF-18 Hornet replacement update: Can Canada afford the F-35? (Can anyone?) -- [The Torch]
...Neither of those estimates seems to include in-service costs. But at $133 million--without those costs--65 for our Air Force would be some $8.7 billion (then there's the future exchange rate). That's already awfully close to our $9 billion which includes in-service costs.
Meanwhile others interested in the F-35 are having price problems...
Virginia will not let military use HOV lanes -- [AP/Military Times]
Virginia has lost its bid to exempt uniformed active-duty military members from high-occupancy vehicle lane restrictions in Hampton Roads.
The Federal Highway Administration rejected the state's request to allow military members traveling to and from a base or other facility to drive alone in HOV lanes.
The federal agency said specific criteria must be met before a vehicle transporting only a driver is allowed to travel in the HOV lanes.
Legislation passed earlier this year by the General Assembly had sought the exemption.
The Gulf War:
Send military to fight oil spill, Florida senator urges Obama -- [CNN]
Last week, Nelson told CNN that if the "top kill" operation to stem the oil leak did not work, the president must not only take more control, but use the military to do so. In the letter, Nelson urges the president to enlist the military to "augment the massive public and private response to the growing oil spill in the Gulf."
"While the Coast Guard, under the Department of Homeland Security, and the National Guard both are involved, it is my belief that the broader assets and command and control capability of the Department of Defense could better translate your directives into prompt, effective action," Nelson wrote...
Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico: Military Supports Federal Oil Spill Response -- [Special section/defense.gov]
Sen. candidate misstated Navy record -- [AP/Military Times]
CHICAGO -- Senate candidate Mark Kirk apologized Thursday for making inaccurate statements about his service in the Navy Reserves, while acknowledging more discrepancies.
"I apologize to everyone for these errors," the Illinois Republican said. "They were my responsibility entirely and I will fix them."
The five-time U.S. representative, who is competing with Democrat Alexi Giannoulias for the Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama, also acknowledged new incidents where public statements didn't match reality about his service.
Kirk said a letter sent by his congressional district office last year described him as a veteran of Operation Desert Storm, the first Persian Gulf war, but he did not participate in that operation.
Calif. congressman corrects info on Army stint -- [AP/Military Times]
The staff of Republican Rep. Gary Miller of California has taken steps to correct biographical information that misstated his military service.
Miller went through Army boot camp in 1967 and then was honorably discharged for health reasons in his seventh week of service because he had ulcers as a child, according to an Army document provided by Miller's office.
However, several publications over the years have reported that Miller served in the Army in 1967-68, the peak of the Vietnam War. The official House website contains the correct information, and Miller's own congressional website doesn't mention his Army stint.
The error in Miller's biography was first reported this week by Harper's Magazine...
(Need more? Dawn Patrols Archives are here.)
