Gen. Martin E. Dempsey was confirmed by the Senate March 16, for assignment as the next Army chief of staff.He succeeds Gen. George W. Casey Jr., who retired in April after serving as the Army’s chief of staff since April 10, 2007.Dempsey is scheduled to be sworn in as chief of staff on April 11, at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Va.A Change of Responsibility Ceremony is scheduled for Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall’s Summerall Field at 3 p.m. that day.Dempsey last served as commanding general of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command at Fort Monroe, Va. He headed TRADOC since December...
U.S. Army Cadet Command will celebrate its silver anniversary on June 3 at Fort Knox, Ky., with a celebration, dedication and memoriam, thereby completing the command’s recent move from Fort Monroe, Va., to this Kentucky post.All Army ROTC graduates and their families are invited by the command to join in the celebration.The day’s events will include the opening and a reception for the new Cadet Command headquarters, and the dedication of Cadet Park on historic Brooks Field, directly across from the new headquarters.June 3 also marks 95 years since the U.S. Congress established the U.S. Army...
It’s up to Iraq now to be successful in their own future, said Secretary of the Army John McHugh."The longer-term key for success is the success of the Iraqi government," McHugh said.Adding, "We’ve brought them as far as we reasonably can be expected to bring them. We’ve given them every opportunity and every basis upon which to succeed and now it’s up to them."McHugh and Gen. George W. Casey Jr., Army chief of staff, spoke March 16, before the House Appropriations Committee’s Defense Subcommittee regarding the Army budget and its posture.McHugh said the Army is having success in its...
Afghan and coalition forces killed several insurgents recently in a shootout in the Darah-ye Pech District of Afghanistan’s Kunar Province.Troops opened fire on the insurgents after watching them maneuver nearby with heavy automatic machine guns, military officials reported.During three days in mid-March, operations throughout Afghanistan included:
- An airstrike that killed five insurgents after coalition troops monitored several armed individuals at a known fighting position for several hours in Kunar Province’s Ghazi District. After the attack, troops investigated the scene and found several...
On March 23, an Afghan citizen informed Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) that a tractor and trailer passing through Sayad Abad District in Wardak Province was filled with bomb-making materials. Afghan National Police responded to the threat.Though the driver fled, police searched the trailer and found 10 suicide vests, 17 spools of detonation cord, 30 cell phones and over 272 kilograms of explosive chemicals.The find, that may have saved many innocent lives and ensures freedom of movement, is the result of a local citizen informing ANSF about insurgent activity. It’s important that...
Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced recently the first seven areas of his country that will transition to full Afghan security control.The announcement marks the beginning of the process that will see Afghan forces responsible for security across the whole country by the end of 2014.In a speech in the Afghan capital of Kabul, Karzai announced that the area around Kabul, except the Sarobi District, will transition. Afghan forces already are in charge of security for most of the area.Officials in Afghanistan and the United States stressed this was an Afghan decision."This heralds the...
Pathfinders from Troop E, 7th Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment (Task Force Palehorse), along with air crews from Task Force Lift’s Black Widows, provided the critical link between humanitarians in the U.S. and Afghans in need when they joined forces with the Afghan National Police to distribute supplies to the people of Deh Gholaman in Kandahar Province.This wasn’t the first time coalition forces have tried to help the farming community, but it is the first time they actually made it into the village."We tried to get out here about a month ago," Patrick Pendergest, a member of the Air Force...
The Taliban’s momentum has been reversed in most areas of Afghanistan, but the progress achieved there is fragile and reversible, the commander of NATO and U.S. forces said March 15 before the Senate Armed Services Committee.Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), told the committee that much dangerous work remains ahead for coalition and Afghan government forces in the country."Nonetheless, the hard-fought achievements in 2010 and early 2011 have enabled the joint Afghan-NATO transition board to recommend initiation this spring of transition to...
Story and photo by Spc. Darriel Swatts, Public Affairs, 40th CABCAMP TAJI, Iraq – The lights dimmed as the chants grew louder, “Toby… Toby… Toby…”In a flash of light, country music superstar Toby Keith emerged onto the stage April 26 at the Jon Schoolcraft Pavilion, rocking one of his hit songs as an overflow crowd of Soldiers erupted into cheers. The “Locked and Loaded Tour” had come to Camp Taji, Iraq.Over the past nine years, Keith has done more than 160 shows in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said he feels good about spending time with the troops. His father was in the Army and is now passed, so...
Story by 2nd Lt. Donald Gillilan, 2nd AAB, 1st Inf. Div., USD-CBAGHDAD—Soldiers with 1st “First Lightning” Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, United States Division – Center had the opportunity to showcase their knowledge of navigational technology during a training mission April 17 with members of the 1st Iraqi Federal Police Division at Joint Security Station Loyalty, Iraq.Recently, the 1st IFP Div. was issued GPS devices to assist them on their patrolling and quick reaction force missions. In some cases before the training began...
Story and photo by Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy, 29th MPAD, USD-CCamp Liberty, Iraq - The U.S. military has seen a tremendous amount of change over the past decade, and further changes are still to come, said Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff while visiting Camp Liberty, Iraq, and service members with United States Division – Center.“We live in a time of extraordinary change,” said Mullen. “Look at what we’ve become as a military, almost on the fly. We started off a heavy, kinetic-focused conventional force and we have now become the best unconventional irregular warfare...
Story and photo by Sgt Isolda McClelland 29th MPAD,USD-C BAGHDAD – At Forward Operating Base Hammer, home of the Besmaya Combat Training Center, the usual sounds of the day are the booms emitted from the various training ranges. Recently, the booms didn’t come from the ranges, but rather the small stage area on the FOB. The booming sounds of drums hammering away and the low rumble of bass guitars meant that Show of Force, the 25th Infantry Division Band’s rock band ensemble, was warming up and getting ready to bring together a crowd of Soldiers and civilians to the stage.This nine-member...
Story and photo by 2nd Lt. Daniel Elmblad, 2nd AAB, 1st Inf. Div., USD-C BAGHDAD—Over the course of a three-day competition, Soldiers with 6th ‘Saber’ Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, United States Division – Center competed for the right to be recognized as the squadron’s top marksman. The ‘Saber Shooter’ competition, unlike static ranges, measured how effectively an individual Soldier could accurately engage multiple targets in a timely manner while maneuvering and changing out ammunition. Designed to expose...
Story by 2nd Lt. Devin Osburn, 2nd AAB, 1st Inf. Div., USD-C BAGHDAD—Troopers with 5th “Longknife” Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, United States Division – Center, recently trained their Iraqi counterparts in the 2nd Iraqi Federal Police Division on land navigation techniques and passed on lessons learned from their own training on the subject.Knowing how to read a map and navigate from one point to another is an important skill to have in any military branch and is emphasized in U.S. Army basic training. “[At basic...
The MQ-1C Gray Eagle looks less like an eagle and more like a giant robotic insect. Its alien-like head and dragonfly form give it a futuristic look.