Showing posts with label deployments. Show all posts
Showing posts with label deployments. Show all posts

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Afghan War News Snippets


Deploying. A small group of Soldiers from Fort Bragg, NC going on a deployment. Read "82nd Airborne Division postal unit headed to Afghanistan", Fayetteville Observer, March 7, 2016.

Flights to Bamyan. The road from Bamyan to Kabul is fraught with danger. The Taliban will stop cars at random along the east-west road and government troops are hard-pressed to defend the many static checkpoints setup on the throughway. So its good news that flights are now available for transport to/from Bamyan and Kabul. The Afghan airline known as Kam Air (and also known for drug smuggling for high-ranking government officials in years past) will take your money for a trip to Afghanistan's ski resort area. (Khaama Press, Mar 9, 2016).

Movie Review - Hyena Road. This film, released in October 2015, is set in Panjwei district, Kandahar province, Afghanistan. A Canadian unit is charged with building a road but there is a slight problem - insurgents. Read "Hyena Road Brings Grinding Complexity of Ground Combat In Afghanistan to the Screen", Task & Purpose, March 10, 2016.

Canadian Memorial for Afghan War. More than 40,000 Canadians served in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2014. The previous Canadian government supported the establishment of a Afghanistan War Memorial; however, it is unknown what the present government plans are. Read more in "Former ministers press to save Afghanistan war memorial", iPolitics.ca, March 6, 2016.

Sunday, March 6, 2016

Security News

Gen Austin - Spinning the Narrative.  The commander of U.S. Central Command, General Lloyd Austin, says that Afghan military is making progress - saying "The Afghans are very capable . . ." Um, okay. If you say so. Read more in "Afghanistan's Security Forces Making Progress, Centcom Says", U.S. DoD, March 2, 2016.

Another Deployment for 3rd Cav. About 1,000 Soldiers from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment will deploy to Afghanistan in the spring of 2016. The Fort Hood Soldiers will be part of a regular rotation of forces in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel. Read more in a news report (Military Times, March 2, 2016).

Two Turks Killed. Two Turkish nationals were killed Saturday in a shooting in Kabul. The police are investigating.

Anniversary of Operation Anaconda. In March 2002 U.S. forces in Afghanistan launched Operation Anaconda to attack al-Qaeda and Taliban forces located in a mountain valley in eastern Afghanistan. Several U.S. servicemen were lost in the battle.
www.afghanwarnews.info/battles/operation-anaconda.htm

Pakistan Harboring Taliban Leaders? The Pakistani prime minister's adviser on foreign affairs has indicated that the leadership of the Afghan Taliban is living in Pakistan. A bold admission of something that many have accused Pakistan of doing for many years. Read more in "Why did Pakistan admit to hosting the Afghan Taliban?", BBC News, March 3, 2016. Read a related article entitled "Diminishing Control Motivates Pakistan to Assert Taliban Influence", Gandhara Blog, March 3, 2016.

Indian Consulate Attacked. A consulate in Nangarhar was attacked and several militants were killed. Read more in "Afghanistan militants dead in Jalalabad attack", BBC News, March 2, 2016. Civilians were killed and wounded in the attack as well.

Gen Dunford Says . . . . that the Afghans are applying security lessons learned in 2015. (DoD News,  Mar 4, 2016). Dunford was the commander for the International Security Force Afghanistan (ISAF) in 2013-2014. He is now the Chief of the Joint Staff and recently visited Afghanistan for the change of command ceremony for Resolute Support.

Lots of Hats. A recent news article contemplates the different types of hats found among the coalition forces at the Resolute Support base in Kabul. A stroll around the compound will find many styles and colors of berets, Australian bush hats with their unique chin strap, French hats with colorful feathers, and more. Then of course, there is the disconcerting habit of British military of not wearing any hat at all that throws U.S. SGMs into a significant panic attack. Read more in "Hats Point to Diversity, Size of Coalition in Afghanistan", DoDLive, March 3, 2016.

Former Governor Freed. The former governor of Herat province was abducted in Pakistan last month by gunmen and was released by security forces. It seems that the captors were transporting him by auto and they were stopped at a checkpoint. Read more in this news story by Kidnap and Ransom Magazine, February 29, 2016.

Badakhshan Opn Soon? There are news reports saying that the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) will soon be mounting an offensive to clear insurgents out of parts of Badakhshan province. Read more in a news report by Tolo News, March 5, 2016.

Afghan Army Logistics. Philip Lere examines the good and bad of Afghan Army logistics system in "The Coalition, Scarcity and the Afghan Army Logistics System", Small Wars Journal, March 3, 2016.

CIVCAS in Paktia Province? The ANDSF recently (Jan 2016) conducted a multi-agency operation in Zurmat that seems to have caused some civilian casualties. Read more in "The ANSF's Zurmat Operation: Abuses against local civilians", Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN),  March 4, 2016.

Districts Handed to Taliban by Govt? Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah has dismissed speculations about the planned hand over of certain districts to the anti-government armed militant groups. Some districts across the country have been abandoned by the ANDSF and that has led to speculation. Read more in "Abdullah dismiss speculations about planned hand over of districts to militants", Khaama Press, March 3, 2016.

District Falls to Govt Troops. The Afghan National Defense Security Forces (ANDSF) has retaken a district that had been under Taliban control for some time. Operations were launched to retake Dand-e-Ghori district of Baghlan province in late January. One of the side effects of the Taliban occupation of the district was the cutting of power lines providing electricity to Kabul. Read more in "Afghan forces take full control of Dand-e-Ghori in Baghlan from Taliban", Khaama Press, March 3, 2016.

Saturday, March 28, 2015

43rd Battalion (Georgia) to Deploy to Afghanistan

43rd Battalion of Georgia. A farewell ceremony was held for the 43rd Battalion of the IV Mechanized Brigade of the Georgia Armed Forces prior to its departure for a deployment to Afghanistan as part of the Resolute Support Mission (RSM). The 43rd Battalion will replace the 51st Battalion on Bagram Air BAse (BAF) located just north of Kabul. The deployment will be six months long and the mission is to provide security for BAF. (The Messenger Online (GE), March 26, 2015.

www.messenger.com.ge/issues/3337_march_26_2015/3337_2.html

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Video - 2/10th BCT Heading Back to Afghanistan

2nd Brigade 10th Mountain Division of Fort Drum will return to Afghanistan later in 2015. There will be about 1,660 troops of the BCT conducting the Security Force Assistance mission. The brigade commander and deputy commander are interviewed about the upcoming mission. Watch the six minute long video on 7 News (WWNY TV) published on March 11, 2015.

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

7th ID to form Kandahar HQs

Recent news reports indicate that the U.S. intends to maintain a presence in Kandahar into the foreseeable future. Perhaps into 2016. The Army is sending the 7th Infantry Division headquarters from Joint Base Lewis-McChord on a year-long deployment to Kandahar airfield in a few months. The hqs could stay on through the 2015 fighting season into early 2016. This would be a change to the "Kabul Centric" approach originally contemplated for 2016. It appears that the "hub and spoke" concept of 2015 (RS HQs in Kabul with TAACs in Gamberi, MeS, Herat, and Kandahar) will survive into 2016. The Germans are likely to stay in MeS beyond 2015. And now the Americans in Kandahar. Can the Italians be convinced to stay on in Herat? Read more in a news report by McClatchy DC dated February 24, 2015.

Sunday, November 23, 2014

A Battalion Ships Out to the War

An extremely compelling story of a 700-man battalion of the 101st Airborne Division leaving their homes and families at Fort Campbell to head off to war. The article captures the essence of the final day prior to getting on the plane for that long ride to Afghanistan to include the doubts of the Soldiers and feelings of concern by their families. Read "The End , In Their Sights", The Washington Post, November 22, 2014.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

3rd ID HQs to Deploy to Afghanistan

Members of the 3rd Infantry Division will soon deploy to Afghanistan to assume their role as the United States Forces Afghanistan National Security Element. A few members of that contingent will serve in Qatar and Kuwait. The deployment will be 12 months long and will be part of the Resolute Support mission that begins in January 1, 2014. The troops will find themselves in a variety of locations to include Bagram Air Base and FOB Gamberi. Read more in "About 200 Fort Stewart soldiers heading to Afghanistan on 12-month deployment", Army Times, October 28, 2014.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

DoD Identifies Units for Upcoming Afghanistan Rotation

The Department of Defense (DoD) has identified five units that will provide elements to deploy to Afghanistan in the Spring of 2014. These units include 1st Brigade 82nd Airborne Division, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, 16th Combat Aviation Brigade, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, and the 1st Cavalry Division Headquarters. Read more about the upcoming deployments at the link below:

www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=16423

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

1st Infantry Division to Command Regional Command East in Afghanistan

The 1st Infantry Division will take over command of Regional Command East in Afghanistan from the 1st Cavalry Division. The switch takes place in April 2012. RC East includes 14 provinces and a 450 mile border region with Pakistan. Even though ISAF is starting to withdraw forces the emphasis on the fighting is supposed to switch from RC South to RC East this fighting season. The commander of the 1st Infantry Division, MG William Mayville, is a very experienced Afghan hand - with three previous Afghan tours. His most recent tour was in 2009-2012 as the operations chief for Gen. Stanley McChrystal. RC East consists of five U.S. combat brigades and two ISAF brigades (one Polish and one French). Read more in "Storied Army unit moving into Afghanistan's east", Fox News, March 20, 2012.

Friday, March 16, 2012

DoD Announces Upcoming Afghanistan Unit Deployments for Spring 2012: 76th Inf Bde, 173rd BCT, 12th CAB

The Department of Defense today identified three major units to deploy as part of the upcoming rotation of forces operating in Afghanistan. The Spring 2012 scheduled rotation involves one brigade combat team headquarters with more than 70 personnel; one brigade combat team with more than 3,600 personnel; and a combat aviation brigade with more than 2,400 personnel to include:

Headquarters unit (rotation began last month):

76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team Headquarters, Indiana Army National Guard

Brigade Combat Team and Combat Aviation Brigade:

173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Vicenza, Italy

12th Combat Aviation Brigade, Katterbach, Germany

To read the entire story see:
http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=15118

Friday, March 9, 2012

DoD Announces Spring 2012 Unit Rotation to Afghanistan

The Department of Defense has announced three major units will be deploying to Afghanistan during the Spring 2012 scheduled rotation.  The deployment includes one corps headquarters (V Corps HQ in Wiesbaden, Germany), one division headquarters (1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas), and one Brigade Combat Team or BCT (4th BCT, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado).  See the news release dated March 8, 2012.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Upcoming Afghanistan Unit Rotations

The Department of Defense announced today major units to deploy as part of upcoming rotations of forces operating in Afghanistan.  The announcement involves two headquarters totaling 1,600 personnel and two infantry brigade combat teams totaling 6,800 personnel.  The scheduled rotation for these forces will begin in early 2011 and continue through the fall of 2011.

            Headquarters units:
            1st Cavalry Division Headquarters, Fort Hood, Texas.
            82nd Airborne Division Headquarters, Fort Bragg, N.C.

            Infantry Brigade Combat Teams:
            170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Baumholder, Germany.
            172nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Grafenwoehr and Schweinfurt, Germany.

http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=14086