Showing posts with label Operation Iraqi Freedom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Operation Iraqi Freedom. Show all posts

Friday, December 18, 2009

Muncie man's son dies in Iraq


Muncie man's son dies in Iraq
By IVY FARGUHESON • ifarguheson@muncie.gannett.com • December 17, 2009


MUNCIE -- A man who moved to Muncie two years ago to be closer to his family has now lost his only son in the Iraq War.

Pfc. Jaiciae L. Pauley, 29, of Austell, Ga., son of Muncie residents Roger and Teressa Pauley, died Dec. 11 in Kirkuk, Iraq, as a result of a "non-combat related incident," according to a military press release.

The death is still being investigated by the U.S. Army, but for Roger Pauley, the manner of his son's death isn't important.

"It bothers me (knowing the death is still being investigated), but whether it's a suicide or an accidental discharge of a gun, my son is still gone," the elder Pauley said. "He was a typical man in his 20s and he was my best friend who I could talk to about anything."

Jaiciae Pauley enlisted in the Army during the summer of 2008, after his father and stepmother moved from the Atlanta metropolitan area to Muncie. The family had begun to struggle financially, prompting the Pauleys to choose to live with family in Indiana.
read more here
Muncie man son dies in Iraq

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Marine Corps Vietnam veteran now serving in Iraq

Marine Corps Vietnam veteran now serving in Iraq
December 6, 2009 by Jackson NJ Online
By Lance Cpl. Melissa A. Latty, Combat Logistics Regiment 27 (FWD)



AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq — From the battle at Belleau Wood, where Marines earned the name Devil Dog, to the iconic image of the flag-raising at Iwo Jima, Marine Corps history is embedded in every Marine from their initial training at boot camp and continues to provide inspiration to those who continue to serve. Some veterans of past wars, like Vietnam, are not only holding on to the memories of that time, but are also making new ones while they serve in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The company first sergeant for Transportation Support Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 46, 1st Sgt. Viriato B. Sena, is one of the few Vietnam veterans still left among the ranks of currently serving Marines.

Sena, who joined the Marine Corps in 1973, participated in the evacuation of Vietnam and is now deployed to Iraq during the responsible drawdown of U.S. forces and equipment in Iraq. The military drawdown from Iraq has been noted to be the largest operation of its kind since Vietnam.

In April 1975, Sena, who was attached to Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, participated in the evacuation of Saigon, Vietnam while working as part of a security team aboard the ships USS Midway and USS Enterprise.
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Marine Corps Vietnam veteran now serving in Iraq

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Soldier's family brings fight with contractor to Congress

Soldier's family brings fight with contractor to Congress
By DAVID GOLDSTEIN
McClatchy Newspapers
Army Lt. Col. Dominic "Rocky" Baragona was killed in Iraq on the very day he was going home.

He was en route, heading south on the road between Baghdad and Kuwait City, when a tractor-trailer lost control, jackknifed across the highway and crushed his Humvee.

That was more than six years ago, when the Iraq war was barely two months old, and Baragona's family has been fighting to hold someone accountable ever since.

His parents, Dominic and Vilma Baragona, and a sister, were on Capitol Hill Wednesday to tell a Senate hearing how their quest for justice after his death has been a frustrating effort.

"Never could I have imagined that I would sit here six years later with no justice, no criminal investigation, few answers," Dominic Baragona Sr. told the Senate Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight.

The family has been asking questions ever since it learned of Baragona's death.

The tractor-trailer that killed Baragona was owned by the Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport Co., an overseas U.S. government contractor that has earned millions of dollars from its work for the military.
read more here
http://www.kansascity.com/444/story/1578986.html

Soldier defends decision to reveal murders of Iraqi detainees

Soldier defends decision to reveal murders of Iraqi detainees
By Abbie Boudreau and Scott Zamost, CNN Special Investigations Unit
November 19, 2009 5:57 p.m. EST

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Sergeant who revealed murders of four Iraqis says he has no regrets about breaking silence
Three sergeants were convicted of murder and conspiracy to commit murder CNN investigation revealed that one of the trio was frustrated with rules for taking in detainees Full investigation on "AC360°" tonight, 10 ET; read blog posts: Abbie Boudreau; Scott Zamost A CNN investigation reveals why the Army's rules for holding detainees may have led to the murders of four Iraqis by three decorated Army sergeants. Watch tonight through Friday on "AC360°" at 10 p.m. ET.

Bakersfield, California (CNN) -- A former Army sergeant who revealed the murders of four Iraqis at a canal in 2007 says he has no regrets about breaking his silence.

"I did the right thing," Jess Cunningham told CNN's "AC360°." "I'm not going to hide behind false brotherhood."

Nine months after the March 2007 murders, Cunningham told his Army lawyer what had happened at the canal. Eventually, three sergeants would be convicted of premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit premeditated murder.

"These men are not heroes. They're not saviors," Cunningham said.

First Sgt. John Hatley, Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Mayo and Sgt. Michael Leahy are all serving terms at the U.S. military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
read more here
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/11/19/army.tapes.soldier.speaks/index.html

Two non-combat deaths under investigation

Death wasn’t combat related Troy Marine lost his life in Iraq; probe is ongoing

By Casey Farrar
Sentinel Staff
Published: Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Military officials have released more information about the death of a Troy Marine in Iraq last week, but say an investigation into how Staff Sgt. Stephen L. Murphy died could take weeks.

Murphy, 36, died Nov. 8 as the result of a non-hostile incident in Anbar province, according to officials at the U.S. Department of Defense.

Further details about how Murphy died won’t be available until military officials complete an investigation into the incident, which could take several weeks, said Marine Master Sgt. Keith Milks.

A non-hostile incident is one that does not take place in combat or involve foul play and could be a suicide, accident or medical condition, said Major Kelly Frushour, a Marine spokeswoman.
read more here
http://sentinelsource.com/articles/2009/11/17/news/local/free/id_379484.txt



Local soldier buried with military honors
Recommend 0
November 17, 2009 5:52 PM
A slow moving funeral cortege moved down Colonie streets Tuesday morning for the funeral of Staff Sergeant Amy Seyboth Tirador.

The 29-year-old 1998 graduate of Colonie Central High School was killed in Iraq on Nov. 4 by what the Army called "non combat circumstances." Amy's parents have said they were told she was shot in the back of the head and the family has promised to find out the truth about what happened.

Neighbors stood outside the Reach Out Fellowship Church watching the flag draped silver casket carried inside while Tirado's husband and parents marched in anguish behind it.

The circumstances of Tirador's death was on the mind of several people. One woman outside the church said, "It's very upsetting. You send your child off to war and then something like this happens."

read more here

http://www.cbs6albany.com/news/buried-1268519-honors-local.html

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Idle US soldiers fight 'Baghdad bulge'

Idle US soldiers fight 'Baghdad bulge'

THEY call it the "Baghdad bulge".
Standing outside a Burger King on the Camp Liberty military base near the city's airport, a group of American soldiers ponder whether to order a second Whopper.

"Not me, man," said Specialist Joe Lorenzo, "I put on so much goddam weight, who knows if my wife will recognise me when I get home?"

Now US troops have been withdrawn from Iraqi city streets and are spending more time behind barbed wire awaiting withdrawal, commanders are struggling to keep them entertained.

Offering ever-increasing food options is the first line of defence in the fight against boredom.

The favourite is lobster night at the D-Fac - American military vernacular for the official "dining facilities". Thousands of sea creatures are regularly taken to the Iraqi desert by cargo plane.

For soldiers prepared to spend their own money on the base, there is also SGVillage, an upmarket mall with restaurants clustered around a car park that opened three weeks ago. The most popular eatery is the red-walled Royal China, boasting a chef from Hong Kong who offers Szechuan-style chicken (£6.90), beef and green peppers (£7.80) and stir-fried noodles with vegetables (£ 4.20).

His uniformed customers sit on wooden deckchairs by a newly planted lawn. But SGVillage faces competition from Camp Liberty Bazaar, where soldiers while away the day surrounded by branded American eateries such as Taco Bell, Subway and Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits.

Behind them is the Post Exchange, or PX, a military supermarket where they can buy T-bone steaks and pork loins along with a Smokey Joe Silver 14-inch barbecue grill (£16.70) and bags of charcoal (£2.80 for 7.2lb).
read more here
Idle US soldiers fight Baghdad bulge
linked from ICasualties.org

Monday, November 9, 2009

Reservist Arkansas Army National Guard Capt. John Vanlandingham Earns Silver Star in Iraqi Save

Reservist Earns Silver Star in Iraqi Save
November 06, 2009
Stephens Mediaby Lewis Delavan
Bullets, grenades, shrapnel and smoke seared the desert. Danger lurked where reed-lined ditches hid ambushers on the narrow, isolated dirt road.

"You couldn't see anything from the dust and the smoke as we moved through the explosive area," Capt. John Vanlandingham recalls. "I saw a black object coming through the air over the reeds. It landed about five feet from me in a tire rut. Luckily, it rolled away. I dove down by a wounded soldier and the grenade blew."

It was Nov. 14, 2004, and the insurgency was rocking the Sunni Triangle. Leader of a 10-vehicle convoy that came under attack, the 37-year-old Arkansas Army National Guard captain from tiny New Blaine, 97 miles northwest of Little Rock, refused to leave behind the Iraqis he had trained to become guardsmen.

Twenty miles short of safety at Camp Taji, north of Baghdad, blasts from improvised explosive devices (IEDs) ripped motors, trucks and human bodies during the enemy attack.

One explosion pitched 25 Iraqis from an unarmed troop carrier into a ditch. Three dead and others wounded. None, however, would be left behind.

Smoke hid the carnage. Some 200 yards toward safety, Vanlandingham realized one Iraqi vehicle was missing. He told his sergeant to reverse the Humvee and ordered a Mark-19 grenade launcher to cover one roadside, two 50-caliber machine guns to cover the other.

Vanlandingham then ran into the kill zone.
read more here
Reservist Earns Silver Star in Iraqi Save

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Staff Sgt. Amy Seyboth Tirado, served with her husband

Death quiets hero's music
Staff Sgt. Amy Seyboth Tirado, who played Taps, comes home at last

By DENNIS YUSKO, Staff writer

First published in print: Saturday, November 7, 2009

COLONIE -- Someone else will have to play Taps.

Staff Sgt. Amy Seyboth Tirador was remembered Friday as a determined soldier who was passionate about her job, family and hometown. She is the first woman soldier in the Capital Region to die in Iraq.

The 29-year-old Albany native grew up with sports and music at South Colonie High School, and had played Taps on her trumpet at the funerals of family members who were veterans of World War II, her father Gerard Seyboth recalled.

Tirador also played the instrument in church and excelled in softball and lacrosse. She grew up to become an Army medic, and helped save the life of a soldier while taking arms fire in Iraq during an attack on an American convoy. She also volunteered to return to Iraq in August as an Arabic-speaking interrogator, a job she would not talk about, her father said.


Amy Tirador deployed to Iraq in 2004 with the Army's First Infantry Division. She provided medical support for escorts on convoys, a dangerous job in an environment of roadside bombs and snipers.

"She had no problems with it," her father recalled. Amy Tirador returned happy, and her family threw a welcome back party in the Joseph E. Zaloga Post 1520 on Everett Road.

A few years later, she met her husband on a military base. They moved to Washington before deploying together.

read more here
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=862862&TextPage=1

Friday, November 6, 2009

Female soldier killed at Fort Hood had just returned from Iraq due to pregnancy

Fort Hood shooting: one of victims was pregnant
One of the 13 people shot dead in the massacre at the Fort Hood military base in Texas was a pregnant woman, according to reports.

Francheska Velez, 21, from Chicago, was filling out paperwork when Major Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire on the Texas base .

She had only just returned from a tour in Iraq three days before, coming back early because she was pregnant, her father Juan Velez told Fox News Chicago. She was expecting a baby boy in May, he said.


Mr Velez said it had been his daughter's dream to join the army and she had just signed up for another three years.
read more here
Fort Hood shooting one of victims was pregnant

DOD announced non-combat death in Iraq

DOD Identifies Army Casualty


The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.



Staff Sgt. Amy C. Tirador, 29, of Albany, N.Y., died Nov. 4 in Kirkush, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. She was assigned to the 209th Military Intelligence Company, 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.



The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.

Military’s stance on burn pits assailed

Military’s stance on burn pits assailed

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Nov 6, 2009 13:01:40 EST

The Air Force bioenvironmental officer who was among the first to warn about the potential effects of open-air burn pits on U.S. troops deployed in the war zones said Friday that he does not believe the findings of a 2008 Army report that discounted the possibility of long-range health risks from exposure to the smoke, fumes and ash.

Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Darrin Curtis, a biomedical sciences officer who was deployed to Joint Base Balad, Iraq, in 2006 and 2007, told a Senate panel looking into military contracting issues that he believes the Army lacked the necessary data to conclude, as it did in a report from its Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine, that long-term health effects from breaking smoke from burn pits is unlikely.

A new joint study by the Defense Department and Veterans Affairs Department is underway that focuses on comparing the health of 30,000 combat veterans who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and 30,000 veterans who never deployed to see whether there are signs of ill effects from exposure to burn pits. This is similar to post-Vietnam and post-Gulf War studies that took years to complete.

“Although I have no hard data, I believe that the burn pits may be responsible for long-term health problems in many individuals,” Curtis said. “I think we are going to look at a lot of sick people.”
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/11/military_burnpits_curtis_110609w/

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Fort Benning soldier dies in Iraq



Fort Benning soldier dies in Iraq

The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Nov 3, 2009 20:24:44 EST

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The Defense Department says a Fort Benning soldier from Colorado Springs has died in Iraq of injuries from a noncombat incident.

Military officials said Tuesday that 21-year-old Spc. Jonathon M. Sylvestre died Monday in Kut, Iraq. Details of his injuries weren’t released.

Sylvestre was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga.

The circumstances of his death are under investigation.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/11/ap_benning_soldier_dies_iraq_110309/

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Two more non-combat deaths in Iraq

10/27/09 MNF: U.S. Soldier dies in non-combat related incident
A Multi-National Corps-Iraq Soldier died today of a non-combat related injury at Camp Victory. The name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of next of kin and release by the Department of Defense.


10/29/09 MNF: U.S. Soldier dies in non-combat related incident
A Soldier who was currently assigned to the 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) died Wednesday of a non-combat related injury at Camp Adder, Iraq. The name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of next of kin and release by the Department of Defense.
go here for links
http://www.icasualties.org/Iraq/index.aspx

Fort Lewis MP dies in Iraq

Fort Lewis MP dies in Iraq

MATT MISTEREK; The News Tribune


A highly decorated military police officer from Fort Lewis who saw previous action in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan died Tuesday in Iraq in what the Department of Defense is calling a noncombat incident.

Maj. David L. Audo, 35, of Saint Joseph, Ill., died in Baghdad, according to DOD and Fort Lewis news releases issued Wednesday. He was assigned in July to Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment of the 22nd Military Police Battalion at Fort Lewis, and at the time of his death was the executive officer for the battalion’s forward element in Iraq.

He married Rebecca K. Johnson in 1998, according to her Web site, and they have two children, according to The News-Gazette of Champaign, Ill.
read more here
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/northwest/story/934024.html

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Fort Wainwright soldier recalls saving medic

Fort Wainwright soldier recalls saving medic from insurgent grenade
by Chris Freiberg

FAIRBANKS — Sgt. Ricardo Montoya didn’t feel anything as the grenade blew up at his feet.

It was May 18, and the 31-year-old father of six was on patrol in Mosul, Iraq, as part of his second deployment to the country.

While most of Fort Wainwright’s 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team was stationed in Iraq’s northeastern Diyala province, Montoya and the rest of Alpha Company from the 1-5 Infantry were attached to another brigade several months earlier and sent further north to Mosul.
read more here
Fort Wainwright soldier recalls saving medic

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Military suicides not worthy of condolences from President?

This is not about Democrat or Republican. This is about the hundreds of military suicides we've already seen along with those that will surly follow. It has been assumed that when a man or woman dies while serving the nation the very least this nation can do is deliver a letter from the President with the condolences of the nation, but that has not been happening.

This is wrong and has left hundreds of grieving families without an acknowledgment from this nation their family member's service was appreciated.

Suicide comes most of the time because the help they needed was not there for them. Most of the suicides in the military could have been prevented but even knowing that we have decided they do not deserve to have their service honored just because their lives ended by the enemy inside of them?

If you really want to get rid of the stigma of needing help here's the chance to do it. Honor all their lives by honoring all their deaths.


Exclusive: Parents of Soldier Who Killed Himself in Iraq Speak Out
Gregg and Jannett Keesling are the parents of Chancellor Keesling, a US soldier who took his own life on June 19th of this year. Chancellor was on his second tour of duty in Iraq. During his first deployment, he suffered mental health issues so severe he was placed on suicide watch. After getting back to the United States, Chancellor had turned down a bonus offer to return to Iraq in the hopes he wouldn’t be redeployed. But he was called back in May. One month later, he took his own life. Since Chancellor’s death, Gregg and Jannett Keesling have yet to receive a letter of condolence from President Obama. After making inquiries, they discovered that this was not because of an oversight. Instead, it’s because of a longstanding US policy to deny presidential condolence letters to the families of soldiers who take their own lives. [includes rush transcript]


AMY GOODMAN: Since Chancellor’s death, Gregg and Jannett Keesling have yet to receive a letter of condolence from President Obama. After making inquiries, they discovered this was not because of an oversight. Instead, it’s because of a longstanding US policy to deny presidential condolence letters to the families of soldiers who have committed suicide.

go here for more

http://www.democracynow.org/2009/10/27/exclusive_parents_of_soldier_who_killed

Monday, October 26, 2009

Female Warriors Engage in Combat in Iraq, Afghanistan

Female Warriors Engage in Combat in Iraq, Afghanistan
Vague Language in Policies Puts in Question Legality of Roles for Women in Combat
By MARTHA RADDATZ and ELIZABETH GORMAN
Oct. 25, 2009

The image of young women in a hot, dusty combat zone toting automatic weapons is still startling to some.

But right now there are 10,000 women serving in Iraq, more than 4,000 in Aghanistan. They have been fighting and dying next to their male comrades since the wars began.

"I can't help but think most Americans think women aren't in combat," says Specialist Ashley Pullen who was awarded a Bronze Star for valor in 2005 for her heroic action in Iraq where she served with a military police unit. "We're here and we're right up with the guys."

Technically they're restricted from certain combat roles. The Department of Defense prohibits women from serving in assignments "whose primary mission is to engage in direct combat on the ground."

Nevertheless, women serving in support positions on and off the frontlines, where war is waged on street corners and in markets, are often at equal risk. There have been 103 women who have been killed in Iraq and 15 others in Afghanistan.
read more here
Female Warriors Engage in Combat in Iraq and Afghanistan

Man arrested over death of soldier honoured for bravery in Iraq

From Times Online October 26, 2009

Man arrested over death of soldier honoured for bravery in Iraq
Scotland Staff

A man has been arrested in connection with the death of a soldier honoured for bravery in Iraq.

Paul McGee, 28, died at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley yesterday after an incident in Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire. Police said that a 28-year-old man was being held in connection with his death.

Mr McGee, who served with the Scots Guards in Iraq, was awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Bravery in July last year after he reportedly risked his life trying to save Stephen Ferguson while on a tour of duty.
read more here
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article6890824.ece

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Soldier Killed While On Leave From Iraq


Local Soldier Killed While On Leave From Iraq
By Melissa Newton
BLUM (CBS 11 / TXA 21)A small Hill County town is rattled after a soldier, home on leave from Iraq is shot and killed. It happened early Saturday morning in the town of Blum, about 20 miles south of Cleburne.

It was supposed to be a joyful reunion, but that joy has now turned to grief as many in the small town are coping with the death of a young soldier.

Private Cody Patterson had just arrived back from Iraq last week. The plan was to spend the next two weeks visiting family in Blum. But early Saturday Patterson was shot and killed in the bedroom of his home.

Patterson's aunt, Joyce Williamson is still in disbelief. "It don't seem real… it just don't. He was just like one of my own. I watched him grow up to be a heck of a man," she said.

read more here

Sunday, October 18, 2009

QuiltMakers of Boyertown sending "home" over to the troops

Plan sewn up to ship 100 quilts to troops

By Brandie Kessler - The (Pottstown) Mercury via Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Oct 18, 2009 8:25:58 EDT

BOYERTOWN, Pa. — Hundreds of hours of tedious work, huge heaps of colorful fabric and an endless amount of love and gratitude were sewn into 100 quilts crafted by members of the QuiltMakers of Boyertown, which will be on their way to troops serving in Iraq in the near future.

"I just thought it would be something from home," said Bobbie Dewey, a member of the group based less than 40 miles northwest of Philadelphia, whose own home is in nearby Pottstown.

A small "something from home," Dewey explained, can mean a great deal to a soldier when he or she is in a war zone hundreds of miles away from their friends and family members. She knows firsthand just how far that distance spans, as her sons, Geoffrey Ostrowski, 21, and Matthew Ostrowski, 24, served in the Army in Iraq and Afghanistan, respectively.

Having previously made Christmas stockings to send to one of her son's units when he was serving in Afghanistan around the holidays, Dewey said she had the idea for a QuiltMakers project: make 100 quilts to send to service members to give them a touch of the comfort of home.

"When my son came home from Afghanistan, I saw this red and white thing in his bag," Dewey said. "It was his stocking. He said 'I'll never get rid of it.'"

Dewey realized that a stocking that meant so much to her son, who had family at home waiting and praying for him, might mean as much or perhaps more to a soldier who did not have a strong support system at home.

"There are some boys over there who don't get the letter every day from mom or sister," she said.
read more here
Plan sewn up to ship 100 quilts to troops