Face of Defense: Mechanic Switches to Security Duty

By Army Sgt. Brian Tierce, Special to American Forces Press Service

BAGHDAD - Since the 1st Infantry Division's 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team assumed control of its Multinational Division Baghdad operational area in November, soldiers of the "Dagger" brigade have performed a multitude of missions.

For Army Sgt. Patrick Chambers, a recent change in jobs took him from vehicle maintenance to brigade leadership protection.

Chambers, a native of Denton, Texas, recently volunteered to serve as a member of the brigade's personal security detachment. It is a dramatic change from working in the motor pool, Chambers said, but it is a switch he was more than ready to make.

"Being in the motor pool is the same thing every day," he said. "Once you fix something, you have more things rolling in. I just wanted a change. I wanted to try something new."

The PSD section needed a noncommissioned officer to serve as team leader. Leaders noted that other PSDs in the brigade had the advantage of internal maintenance support.

"The brigade PSDs didn't have any maintenance personnel, Chambers explained, "and one of the squad leaders had been working to get me into the platoon for a while."

Army Staff Sgt. Galo Roman, of New York City, routinely encountered Chambers at the battalion motor pool. Roman was well aware of the advantages of having a trained mechanic as a part of the platoon.

"I was very excited when it was brought to my attention that Sergeant Chambers was going to join the PSD platoon," Roman said. "Furthermore, I was excited when I learned he was going to come to my squad. He is an outstanding NCO with multiple deployments under his belt, and he will be a vital asset to our PSD section."

Once the transition to the PSD was complete, it was time for Chambers to find his place on the team. This meant learning the role of a team leader in the squad.

"The biggest thing is learning how the team does things," he said, "so I can slide into the team leader position and fit well with the team."

As Chambers learns his new position, his experience as a mechanic makes his arrival on the team stand out to the PSD section.

"He knows the ins and outs of the motor pool, and he knows the key personnel in the maintenance section," Roman said. "Now, instead of spending six hours in the motor pool, he will be able to facilitate a new standard for the section to uphold with the maintenance of our vehicles."

As he prepares to spend the remaining months of the brigade's deployment supporting the PSD's mission, Chambers said, the operational tempo the soldiers maintain is the change he was looking for when he took the job.

"My favorite part of the new job is just getting out," he said. "Just being able to get out there, get on the roads and see what's going on in Baghdad, rather than always being on the [base]."

'Screaming Eagles' to Go Home Early, Leaving 14 Brigades in Iraq

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6, 2008 - About 3,000 soldiers assigned to the 101st Airborne Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team will leave Iraq nearly two months earlier than planned, reducing the total number of U.S. brigades in Iraq to 14, military officials said.

Improved security and decreased violence across the unit's area of operations in northwestern Baghdad is enabling the early redeployment of the soldiers back to Fort Campbell, Ky., Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters today.

The unit is commencing pack-up operations, Whitman said, and its return window is around the Thanksgiving-Christmas holiday season.

Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, U.S. Central Command chief, and Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, recommended the early departure of the unit based upon conditions on the ground, Whitman said. Another U.S. brigade that was earmarked for deployment to Iraq recently was diverted for duty in Afghanistan.

Violence in Baghdad has drastically decreased, military officials said, compared to the level of violence experienced at the height of fighting in 2006, prior to the 2007 surge of forces. A total of 20 U.S. brigades were in Iraq during the surge.

The 2nd BCT, Whitman said, was scheduled to leave Iraq in January after serving 15 months of duty there.

In other Iraq news, Whitman said, senior U.S. officials have delivered to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki a draft document of the U.S.-Iraqi status of forces agreement that contains changes U.S. officials are suggesting. The draft in its present form, he said, contains legal protections for U.S. troops stationed in Iraq. Whitman said he wouldn't get into specifics of possible points of contention regarding the negotiations.

Whitman fielded another reporter's question about new reports of civilian casualties in Afghanistan allegedly caused by U.S. military actions. The United States, Whitman said, always takes measures to prevent the killing or wounding of any civilians during all of its military operations.

Regarding the pending transition of presidential administration at the Defense Department, Whitman said DoD continues to "lean forward" in preparing to welcome and assist President-elect Barack Obama's transition team. Whitman later led reporters on a tour of three newly renovated Pentagon offices that contain work space, telephones and other equipment suitable for the use of nearly 30 people.

Last Surge Brigade to Return After 'Successful' 13-Month Deployment

By John J. Kruzel, American Forces Press Service

The last of the five Army brigades to deploy with the "troop surge" in Iraq will return in July after a 13-month deployment, during which soldiers detained more than 800 terrorist suspects and helped foster Iraqi self-governance. Video
The 3rd Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team has operated in the Arab Jabour area of southeastern Baghdad, where the number of attacks plummeted from about 30 a week when they arrived in May 2007 to about one a week now.

"All in all, it's been a very successful operation for us," Army Col. Terry Ferrell, 2nd Brigade Combat Team commander, told reporters at the Pentagon today via video teleconference from Forward Operating Base Kalsu, in Baghdad.

President Bush announced the temporary 33,000-troop surge in January 2007 to tamp down violence in Iraq and help prepare Iraq's national security forces to maintain security. The first surge brigade went home in March, and the final redeployment next month will reduce the number of brigades in Iraq to 15.

During their tour, 2nd Brigade soldiers' main duties have included blocking weapons from entering the Iraqi capital, protecting the local population and quashing sectarian violence. The soldiers also have focused on making Iraqi security forces more capable, fostering the local governance and economy, and setting up Iraqis for long-term self-reliance.

The primary enemies, Ferrell said, have been al-Qaida and Sunni extremists who had created a sanctuary in Arab Jabour, where terrorists controlled the population through fear and intimidation. Insurgents used homes, farms and commercial properties as bases of operation and bomb-making factories, devastating the region's economy.

Without a sustained security presence in the area, local residents often were bereft of basic necessities such as clean water, electricity, health care and education, the colonel added.

But over the course of the year, 2nd Brigade helped establish 11 patrol bases in Arab Jabour. The centers are manned by coalition and Iraqi security forces who work and live together and coordinate efforts of some 5,000 citizen security group members known as "Sons of Iraq."

Coalition and Iraqi security forces, along with the Sons of Iraq, achieved significant gains through three division-focused operations: Marne Torch I, Marne Torch II and Marne Thunderbolt.

"The combined efforts of these operations resulted in over 800 suspects detained, over 600 weapons caches found and over 500 [homemade bombs] safely destroyed, and nearly 6,000-plus houses cleared so that we could continue to move through the area of operations, providing for a safe, secure environment," Ferrell said.

The colonel added that, in addition to these operations, an increased Iraqi army role in the area allowed local citizens to enlarge their presence.

"Over this past year, we've helped create city councils in each of our population areas," he said. "Neighborhood councils now give our communities a direct voice to the government."

Moreover, in the wake of security gains, the local agriculture and economy have flourished. In addition, private clinics continue to open, electricity and water are flowing easily into the area, and the community has established 25 new or refurbished schools.

"As we prepare to redeploy as the last of the five surge brigades," Ferrell said, "it's clear that the government of Iraq has begun to shoulder a larger responsibility for the citizens in the area that we have operated.

"Furthermore, the capacity and capabilities of the Iraqi army has improved tremendously throughout our time here and the operations we have conducted jointly throughout the operation," he added. "All these vehicles of change combined to generate momentum towards prosperity, security and self-reliance."

Black Jack Soldiers begin movement home

BY Sgt. Robert Yde, 2nd BCT, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs

CAMP VIRGINIA, Kuwait - For Soldiers from the 1st Cavalry Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, the first step home after their 15-month deployment to Iraq begins in Kuwait.

For the past few weeks a large contingent of Black Jack Soldiers have been arriving to different bases in Kuwait in order to pave the way for the rest of the brigade's movement back to Fort Hood, Texas.

"We basically have two missions in Kuwait and that's moving personnel and equipment home," explained Maj. Thomas Weiss, the brigade's redeployment cell officer-in-charge at Camp Virginia. "After a 15-month rotation in Iraq you've got personnel who are down in other parts of Kuwait and are helping to prepare the vehicles and wash them and get them ready to get on either ships or other conveyances back to the States.

"Then we've also got people down here who are helping process the personnel at Virginia to go back to the States. Once we get both of those things accomplished we can go back successfully as a brigade to Fort Hood," Weiss said.
While Soldiers are cleaning the brigade's vehicles, more Soldiers are receiving and processing the first groups of the brigade's Soldiers to return home.

"Basically they stay here for 48 to 72 hours until they're ready to get on a plane and go home," Weiss, who is originally from River Falls, Wis., said, "So we give them a room, make sure all the paper work is straight and make sure they get out of here on time and on the right flight."

Weiss said the process is designed to be as quick and painless as possible.

"We've been getting a lot of support from the Air Force and a lot of support from the other agencies that are here in Kuwait," he said. "This is a relatively mature theater -we've been here awhile and standard operating procedures are in place - and people know what they're doing so it all goes pretty smoothly.

"They know the Soldiers have been in Iraq; they've been in combat and they've been away from their families for a very, very long time, and they do their best to minimize the time you spend down here and the pain that you have to go through to get out."

While Weiss said the system isn't perfect and some Soldiers may have a longer wait than others, each step is necessary to ensure that the entire brigade returns home safely.

"It's just one more step on the road to getting home," he said. "As long as we do all of this successfully, then we'll all get home soon."