Laptops for Wounded Warriors Project Expands | Marinka Peschmann

"Upon learning that this journalist is Canadian, the young, handsome warrior’s eyes brightly lit up and he told me how Canadians saved his life, then described how during the critical life and death hour, called the “golden hour,” after the deadly IED blast, he was aided by Canadian forces in Afghanistan, “I want to thank the Canadians who saved my life,” he said. Canada has been one of the few allies who have fought with Americans to defeat the terrorists and extremists in Afghanistan."


Laptops for Wounded Warriors Project Expands Marinka Peschmann:

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Officer blinded in Iraq graduates MCCC

By Gina Cavallaro - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Dec 24, 2009 13:15:38 EST

Capt. Ivan Castro lost his eyesight in Iraq to a spray of hot shrapnel from an 82mm mortar round that landed five feet from his position on a rooftop.
It’s been a long three years since that Sept. 2, 2006 attack, which killed two of his soldiers, and Castro never thought he’d survive his wounds.
But on Dec. 15, Castro, a 21-year veteran of the Army, graduated from the Maneuver Captains Career Course at Fort Benning, Ga., and will soon report to his new assignment as operations officer in Special Forces Recruiting Battalion at Fort Bragg, N.C., according to an Army news release.
When Castro was an enlisted soldier, he was assigned to 7th Special Forces Group.
At the time of the mortar attack southwest of Baghdad, Castro, a first lieutenant at the time, was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division and was a sniper reconnaissance platoon leader.

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U.S.-Iraqi partnership halts smuggling across Syrian border

"CONTINGENCY OPERATING SITE UBAYDI, Iraq (Dec. 14, 2009) -- Since U.S. advise and assist forces began partnering with Iraqi border patrols along the Syrian border in mid-November, instances of smugglers circumventing port-of-entry stations have all but ceased, according to several sources within the Department of Border Enforcement.

To prevent arms smuggling prior to the 2010 Iraqi national elections, Soldiers with Company D, 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division (Advise and Assist Brigade), began partnered operations and training with border security forces of the 15th Iraqi Brigade, DBE.

Attempts to smuggle contraband across the border berms have been greatly reduced since the Americans showed up, according to Staff Brig. Gen. Dhamin, commander of 15th Brigade."

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Troops in Anbar Prepare for Iraqi Election

"As U.S. troops in western Iraq help to prepare for national elections in January, an American commander in the former insurgent hotbed of Anbar province said any potential uptick in violence is unlikely to derail the balloting.

For the past two weeks, some of the 5,000 troops of the 82nd Airborne Division’s 1st Brigade, under the command of Army Col. Mark Stammer, have been working alongside Iraqi counterparts in Anbar to secure positions and checkpoints for the election."

“Iraqi security forces are well under way for their preparations,” Stammer told Pentagon reporters. “We don't anticipate any real spikes in violence that could derail the elections in Anbar province at this time.”Referring to a recent spate of terrorist attacks in the province, including the slaying this week of a Sunni politician and 12 other men in what appears to be a strike by al-Qaida in Iraq, Stammer attributed the violence to separate groups sharing a desire to disrupt the election process.“These [are] disparate groups coming together for short-term common interests to achieve some measure of success in derailing the elections,” he said. “They have not been able to accomplish this to date, nor do I anticipate them being able to accomplish that.”

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National Veterans Day Observance

The uneasy ride of Canada's tankers in Afghanistan

"The dust, the dirt, the attacks, the roadside bombs just part of a day's work for Edmontonbased Lord Strathcona's Horse as they go about their duties"
By Ryan Cormier, Edmonton JournalNovember 8, 2009

In the land of guns that is Afghanistan, members of the Edmonton-based Lord Strathcona's Horse have the biggest ones around.
For six sweltering months, the 82 Edmontonbased soldiers of C Squadron operated the only tanks in southern Afghanistan. On bomb-littered roads absent of any traffic rules, the Strathcona's drove their 70-tonne machines on nearly 250 missions.
Their tanks were damaged with hidden bombs numerous times, with three major incidents, severely injuring two soldiers, but they suffered no casualties during the entire tour."

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On a sad day for Iraq, things are quiet at CKV

"By Mike Francis, The Oregonian
October 25, 2009, 9:23PM
CKV holds about a thousand people, including members of other branches and contractors. But about 120 Oregonians are running the place, which, as you can see from the picture below, ain't exactly paradise. But their goal is to be the unit that sees it closed down and returned to the Iraqis ... assuming the political and military process works the way it is supposed to. With the explosions in Baghdad yesterday and the uncertainty about the January elections, that's a big If."

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State Officials Show Appreciation

Flags from more than 30 U.S. states are displayed during a ceremony, Oct. 20, at Forward Operating Base Hammer, located outside eastern Baghdad. Government officials from each state donated the flags to members of Company C, 82nd Brigade Support Battalion 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division in appreciation for their service to the country.
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'Advise and Assist' Brigade Helps Bridge Project

'Advise and Assist' Brigade Helps Bridge Project:
"Army divers come out of the Euphrates River after a two-hour dive to locate debris in the path of the new Saqlawiya bridge being built north of Taqaddum, Iraq, Oct. 5, 2009. The 'umbilical cord' on shore includes the air supply and communications for the divers, who are assigned to the 86th Engineer Dive Team."

SAQLAWIYA, Iraq (Oct. 14, 2009) -- On a floating bridge beside the stump of a modern concrete highway span under construction here, two middle-aged men talk through an interpreter about the job before them.One is Najee Hamed, shift supervisor for the Iraqi police who are manning traffic control points and providing security for the bridge and new construction. A large, heavyset man, Hamed is a former first sergeant of an Iraq army artillery battery who was wounded by rocket fire in the Iraq-Iran War.The other is U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Scott Thomas, a paratrooper on his fifth deployment, whose family's military service dates back to the U.S. Revolution. Thomas, with the 82nd Airborne Division's 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, is providing security for an Army dive team that is removing debris from a destroyed bridge so that Iraqi contractors may finish a new bridge project.The 504th was the first infantry regiment in the Army to be designated airborne; now it is part of the newest tool in the Army's arsenal developed for this kind of mission: the advise-and-assist brigade. More