Iraqi Forces Discover Priceless Smuggled Treasure

At the Fayette Front Page and Georgia Front Page we receive a lot of really good stories that we'd love to include but just can't find the right place. The following story is one that I thought was really interesting but it doesn't quite "fit" anywhere on the main sites. I wish we could include every good story that comes our way, especially those about our military. Despite all the lip service about loving our troops, the press sure doesn't like to include any stories that paint them in a good light... It drives me nuts to hear the words coming out of SOME people's mouths about supporting out troops. Words have absolutely no meaning unless they're backed up by action. OK, before I get too far afield and really start going down the trash-the-media-path, I'll just post the story and let you read.

Iraqi Security Forces recently uncovered hundreds of historical artifacts during two raids in northern Basra.

The 228 ancient artifacts included Sumerian and Babylonian sculpture, gold jewelry and other items from ancient Mesopotamia.

"This is my favorite item," said Iraqi Col. Ali Sabah, commander of the Basra Emergency Battalion that led the operation, holding a piece of gold jewelry. "It's gold from the Babylon ages and about 6,000 years old. It doesn't have a price."

"I'm very happy because this is my civilization's heritage," he said.

The Basra Emergency Battalion led raid operated from tips that smugglers intended to remove the treasure from the country.

"We got information that there were important Iraqi monuments that were going to be smuggled outside of Iraq," Sabah said.

After verifying a tip, the operation kicked off with a house raid that recovered 160 pieces of Iraqi monuments that were found in the yard. "We arrested five of the guys and they admitted to the crime," he said.

These arrests led to a second raid on in al-Ayaqub in northern Basra.

The monuments were found in a box in a corner of the yard covered with blocks. "We knew what we were looking for because we had pictures," Sabah said

"We will send it back to Baghdad via the Ministry of Defense to action moving it to the Iraqi Museum," he said.

Sabah said he hopes Iraqi authorities will get more information of this kind. "The soldiers are very, very proud to conduct this operation," he said. "I can't describe how happy we were when the soldiers found it.

"Each of the soldiers will be very proud when they visit the museum with their families and their wives and they can say 'I brought it back'."

(Special to American Forces Press Service - Multi-National Division South East PAO)
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Soldiering on to Miss America title?

Ramling' Jan: Wow. That's my first reaction to reading about this impressive 24 year old from Utah! She typifies true American spirit and would be an outstanding poster child for everything USA!

Photo: Utah Army National Guard Sgt. Jill Stevens, who is competing in the Miss America pageant as Miss Utah, plays with children while serving as a medic in Afghanistan in 2004.

Guard Medic Focuses On Miss America Title
By Staff Sgt. Rebecca Doucette, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 17, 2008 - Utah Army National Guard Sgt. Jill Stevens' "personal combat zone" has shifted from Afghanistan to Nevada, from a minefield to a beauty contest, from combat boots to high heels.

The 24-year-old Stevens also is Miss Utah, and she is a contestant in the Miss America Pageant in Las Vegas, which will be televised Jan. 26 on The Learning Channel.

Stevens, a combat medic with the Utah Guard, has a resume that isn't what you would typically expect from a soldier, or a pageant contestant, for that matter: graduate, summa cum laude, Southern Utah University; soldier, Army National Guard; veteran, Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan; contestant, 2008 Miss America Live.

If she wins the crown, Stevens will be the first Miss America to have served in a combat zone, a pageant spokesperson said. She would become the 80th Miss America overall for the pageant, which began in 1921, according to the Miss America Web site. (There were eight years when a new Miss America was not named).

In her duties as Miss Utah, Stevens has traveled from Florida to California, from the destruction of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana to the streets of Washington, D.C. She has spoken to generals from 40 countries.

Back in Utah, she talks about her military experiences with students from preschool through college and challenges them to push-up contests.

"We have our personal combat zone," Stevens tells students. "I served in one in Afghanistan. We all have them in life, whether it be with school, family, peer pressure or finding a career. It's our own minefield and we have to learn to dodge the mines by keeping focus on the target, not doubting ourselves, and believing what our potential is and what we can do."

Like other citizen-soldiers and -airmen, Stevens stays busy and balances life out of uniform with life in uniform. She recently said she hopes the pageant audience and judges see beyond her military uniform to the full complexity of her life.

"I don't want to showcase this in a, 'Oh, look at me, I'm a soldier, I serve my country, you should pick me' kind of way," she said. "I want them to think. I want them to look at Jill Stevens and see the whole picture of everything that I do, and being a soldier is a huge part of that, but there's a lot more."

Nevertheless, her pageant platform mirrors the Guard's domestic playbook: "Ready when disaster strikes – emergency preparedness for everyone."

"That comes from my soldier side of being ready for anything," Stevens said. "As a medic, we have to be ready for any injury that we face on missions."

And Stevens draws on her Guard experiences – from Basic Combat Training to a combat zone – in her talks with students.

"I talk about going through the gas chamber, and I relate that to doubt in our lives," she said. "I talk about shooting at a range, relating that to goals – how we need to keep focused on the target. I talk about running through a minefield in life."

The final stop on her run for the title of Miss America is a four-day competition in Las Vegas, culminating with the crowning of the winner on national TV.

Conspicuously absent from the competition will be Stevens' military uniform. But with the help of the American Legion, at least 50 of her fellow soldiers will attend the final night of the pageant at Planet Hollywood on Jan 26.

That arrangement started when a former Miss America, Sharlene Wells, called the Miss America Organization to say that a group of Utah National Guard soldiers wanted to come to the pageant and show their support, but had no budget to buy tickets.

The organization in turn called the American Legion, which offered to sponsor the soldiers and pay for their tickets to attend.

"The motto for the American Legion is 'for God and Country,' and that's exactly what Stevens is doing," said Joe March, the Legion's public relations director. "She stands as a great example of a proud American who is dedicated not only to her country, but to her community and her comrades."

As she goes into the competition, Stevens said "My target is Miss America. The military has taught me if I practice, work hard at it and keep focus on the target, I'll be ready."

(Editor's note: Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill contributed to this report. Greenhill and Staff Sgt. Rebecca Doucette work for the National Guard Bureau.)

Team Works to Defend Digital Battlefield in Europe

RJ - Just thought this was so very interesting! We didn't have a place for it on the Fayette Front Page so I thought I'd share it in my blog. Happy New Year (not that this article has anything to do with ringing in the new year... it speaks more to the new world we live in).

By Kristopher Joseph
Special to American Forces Press Service

MANNHEIM, Germany, Dec. 31, 2007 - In 1983, with the Cold War still going strong, a movie called "War Games" depicted an eccentric computer hacker named David Lightman, played by Matthew Broderick. With dogged determination to play a military-generated "game" -- Global Thermonuclear War -- David managed to hack into the North American Aerospace Defense Command computer system and almost caused an actual nuclear war with the Soviet Union.

The Army's 5th Signal Command has created a cyber-threat intelligence cell to detect, monitor and combat malicious digital infiltrations on military computer networks. Photo by Sgt. Michael Taylor, USA
(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

"War Games" represented the tensions and anxieties of the ever-looming nuclear threat during the Cold War nuclear arms race. The global war on terrorism has replaced many threats of the Cold War. Many believe that in today's "information age" there are real David Lightmans who pose a cyber threat to military networks that could cause the loss of innocent lives unless something is done about them.

"We are taking a proactive approach to stop these 'hacktivists' from attacking our systems," said Robert Hembrook, deputy chief of intelligence for United States Army Europe's 5th Signal Command here.

For the first time in the European military theater, a cyber-threat intelligence cell has been created for the specific purpose of detecting, monitoring and combating malicious digital infiltrations on military computer networks, Hembrook said.

Cyber defense is implemented at the Department of Defense level and already was under way in the halls of U.S. European Command, in Stuttgart, but a fully developed and funded European theater-level cyber cell now is active within 5th Signal Command, Hembrook said.

The cell consists of three experienced intelligence and computer experts whose jobs are to observe potentially harmful data passing from the Internet into friendly networks, identify patterns of attacks, analyze data, and advise the operators of the network so that they can take preventative action to ensure the safety and security of all systems in the European footprint.

"The fact is that there are people currently trying to break into our systems in an effort to obtain data or plant viruses that put servicemembers and their missions at risk," one of the cyber cell members said. "We simply cannot be vulnerable in this area."

The military, along with most other organizations, relies more and more on the speed and capabilities of computer-based technology to give it an edge on the battlefield. This reliance also allows an extra avenue of attack for the enemy. "This cyber cell marks a change of approach in the intel world," a team member said. "We are already experts on predicting physical attacks from the enemy, but we never had a dedicated staff to predict and prevent virtual attacks at a theater level."

Besides combating threats from the outside, the cell is also involved with helping its military users prevent "digital fratricide" from the inside. For work and morale purposes, DoD policy allows users filtered, monitored access to the World Wide Web on government computers. According to a cell member, this is to obtain business-related information and to visit non-work related sites as long as casual browsing does not affect getting missions accomplished.

"It's a delicate relationship of balancing functionality and security," a cell member said. "We know that many users can't do their job without computers and the Internet, so we look for ways to help protect them."

"Users need to know that Internet access is a privilege and not a right," one cyber cell member said.

The cell has taken another proactive step by leaving their offices and actively engaging and informing commanders and military communities of their findings as well as stressing the importance and relevance of the cyber battlefield.

Another cell member said that the team's audience is the leadership in theater because they are the ones who can affect changes in how members of the DoD deal with and fight these cyber threats.

"We have had nothing but positive feedback from commanders," one cell member said. "They are taking our reports seriously, and more and more they are seeing that, if our data or systems get compromised or abused, threats to our systems can affect not only those sitting behind a desk, but also those on the front lines."

Since the 5th Signal Cyber Cell has shared its results to the intelligence community, other military organizations are asking how they too can have a cyber cell to find their own digital landmines, team officials said.

"This (cyber cell) is unprecedented at this level," a cell member said. "I saw the need for this when I worked at the DoD level. Members of the cell believe that network-defensive measures should be implemented at all levels in the military because a computer's role is becoming just as vital as an M-16 rifle in terms of winning today's wars.

"As much as the military trains its own on weapon safety, so we should be training them on computer and network safety," the cell member said. "That is where informing the leadership and giving them briefings becomes so vital."

In a 2006 interview for Defense Systems magazine, Tom Reardon, chief of the Intelligence Division for Network Enterprise Technology Command at Fort Huachuca, Ariz., had this to say about the level of importance computer networks play in military operations: "Network-centric operations are how we prosecute war and sustain the warfighter. If an enemy can degrade or destroy that capability, the tide of the battle could easily be turned in their favor. Worse yet, if the enemy succeeds in denying our network-centric capability, our forces may not be able to deploy; we couldn't show up to seize or defend terrain or support an ally."

Today, the 5th Signal Cyber Threat Intelligence Cell team members are the U.S. Army Europe warfighters in virtual trenches making sure the digital frontlines are defended.

"From an intel point of view, we've gone from 'patch the leaks' to 'build a better boat,'" Hembrook said.

(Kristopher Joseph is a public affairs specialist and editor of 5th Signal Command's biannual Echo magazine.)

Iraqi Forces, Local Citizens Help to Reduce Violence in Northern Iraq

We have some fantastic, caring soldiers fighting for us... and for those in Iraq! The commitment these soldiers have to helping others is really something. It amazes me that while they're tough, ready and willing to fight, they also have a heart. We have every reason to be thankful to all of those who signed up to protect our country and our freedoms! Take a moment from your Thanksgiving day and say THANKS to and for our military.

Iraqi Forces, Local Citizens Help to Reduce Violence in Northern Iraq

A robust partnership between coalition troops and Iraqi security forces and support from the Iraqi people is showing success in bringing down violence in Iraq's Multinational Division North sector, the troop commander there said today.

Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, who also commands the Germany-based 1st Armored Division, told Pentagon reporters via videoconference that attacks in his area of operations are higher than anywhere else in Iraq.

However, Hertling noted "a marked reduction" in violence, particularly in improvised explosive device attacks. Enemy forces planted 1,830 IEDs in June, he said. By October, that number had dropped to about 900. As of today, the November number was 520.

Operation Iron Hammer, an ongoing counterinsurgency operation launched Nov. 5, is building on this success. To date, coalition and Iraqi forces detained 400 terror suspects and uncovered 79 weapons caches containing "an unbelievable amount of weapons and ammunition," Hertling said.

Among the weaponry was the largest cache of explosively formed projectiles yet to be discovered in Iraq. Hertling said there's no question these armor-piercing EFPs originated in Iran, but said he has no indication they arrived since Iran pledged to stop these shipments. "I am hopeful the Iranians are keeping their promise to not interfere with the international security conditions of Iraq by supplying either arms or equipment or trained personnel," he said.

Hertling said he's optimistic about the trends, but recognizes more attacks are likely. "You are still going to read about spectacular attacks," he said, particularly those targeting Iraqi security forces and concerned local citizens who have both become key partners in confronting the terrorist threat in the region.

Hertling noted steady increases in the capability of Iraqi security forces who have become solid partners in the counterinsurgency fight. During Iron Hammer, Hertling said, the Iraqis did more than he asked of them and performed at higher levels than he had expected.

"We've got a partner now," he said. "They are speaking the same language tactically and operationally that we are, and they are going after the same enemy we are."

Insurgents are noticing these improvements, too, and are likely to respond by singling out more Iraqi forces as targets, he said. "The enemy realizes that they're growing in capability, and if there is any kind of chance of stopping the representative movement of the government, that they have to attack the security forces," he said.

Similarly, Hertling said, the enemy recognizes the role local Iraqi citizens are playing in helping the coalition and Iraqi forces confront the terrorist threat in their neighborhoods. Nearly one-fourth of the weapons caches uncovered during Iron Hammer resulted from tips by local citizens.

"Iraqi citizens across the board are tired of seeing people use their country for a traumatic playground, and the Iraqi people have stepped up," Hertling said. "They are tired of the violence. They just want to go back to having their children go to school, farming their fields (and) running their businesses."

ESGR Seeks Freedom Award Nominees

The National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve is seeking employers with records of stellar support for military employees.

The group is accepting nominations for the 2008 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Awards through Jan. 21.

"Almost one-half of the U.S. military is comprised of the National Guard and Reserve," said Beth Sherman, an ESGR spokeswoman. "The Department of Defense shares these citizen warriors with their civilian employers, many of whom provide significant support to (these) employees."

Past recipients of the award have provided full salary, a continuation of benefits, care packages and other forms of help such as home and lawn care for families of employees fulfilling military obligations.

"While all employer support is exemplary, small employers that go above and beyond the requirements of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act to assist their employees serving in the National Guard and Reserve, really set the bar high (last year)," Sherman said.

USERRA prohibits discrimination against people because of military service.

Augustine and Sons, a family-owned farm in Iowa, is one example of a small business that goes out of its way for its employees, Sherman said.

When one of its employees, 1st Sgt. Matthew Strasser, an Iowa Army National Guardsman, was deployed, the farm lost half its staff. Yet the Augustine family offered its continuing support to the family Strasser left behind.

"They allowed Strasser's wife and ... two sons to live on the farm rent-free," Sherman said. "The Augustines took the boys fishing, attended their sports games and fixed their dirt bikes."

Large businesses previously recognized for their exemplary support include Sears and Starbucks. The commonwealth of Massachusetts and the state of Tennessee both are past recipients of the public-sector award.

ESGR is encouraging National Guardsmen, reservists and their family members to nominate employers who offer their employees similar support. Nomination forms are available on the committee's Web site, www.esgr.org.

Last year, 1,119 nominations were received. To date, ESGR has received 268 already this year.

"Given that employer support is so strong, we hope reserve-component members will see fit to nominate their deserving employers," Sherman said. "This kind of recognition establishes a benchmark for all employers, and we hope this recognition is a small thank you from the Department of Defense."

Winners selected in three categories will be announced in early spring and will receive their awards during a Sept. 18 award ceremony.

Founded in 1972, the National Committee for Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve is a Defense Department agency established to promote cooperation and understanding between reserve-component members and their civilian employers. The organization also is a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.

Then-Defense Secretary William Perry instituted the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award in 1996.

Related Sites: Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act America Supports You

Coalition Forces Detain Dozens in Iraq Operations

I know I mentioned it in a previous blog, but I am getting really tired of never hearing anything good about the war in Iraq, etc. from main stream media. The news doesn'te exactly "fit" with the mission and flavor of the Fayette Front Page and the Georgia Front Page. We do local community news. What I've decided to do is occasionally post some stories on this blog. Most will be from the Armed Services folks, but I get them from all over. I'll try to give credit, depends on how fast I'm zooming that day...

Here's today's bit:

Coalition forces detained 16 suspects, including three wanted individuals, during operations today to disrupt al Qaeda in Iraq and foreign terrorist operations in central and northern Iraq.

-- During an operation in southern Baghdad, coalition forces captured a wanted individual believed to be involved in the car-bombing network in the Rusafa and Karkh areas. Reports indicated the suspect was associated with several of the network's senior leaders and allegedly tried to reestablish operations after significant degradation by coalition forces.

-- An operation northeast of the capital city netted an individual believed to be tied to foreign-terrorist facilitators and other senior al Qaeda leaders operating in Salman Pak. Coalition forces entered the target area and called for a building's occupants to come out. They complied without incident. The suspect identified himself to the ground forces and was detained.

-- Farther north in Mosul, coalition forces captured another wanted individual believed to be involved in the city's terrorist propaganda network. The ground force isolated the target building and called for the building's occupants to come out. During the operation, coalition forces found significant al Qaeda propaganda believed to be for distribution as part of the media network. The wanted individual identified himself to the ground forces and was detained.

-- In three separate operations near Salman Pak, Beiji and Mosul, coalition forces detained eight suspects while targeting alleged foreign-terrorist facilitators, couriers, associates of senior level al Qaeda members, and planners of improvised-explosive-device attacks against the Iraqi people.

"These captures are another step forward in disrupting al-Qaeda networks," said Army Maj. Winfield Danielson, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman.

In raids yesterday, coalition forces detained 10 suspects during operations to disrupt al Qaeda in Iraq in central and northern Iraq.

Coalition forces captured a wanted individual during operations northeast of Baghdad targeting an alleged al Qaeda in Iraq financier. Reports indicated the wanted individual was an associate of senior terrorist leaders in the region, and his sons were believed to be snipers for the terrorist network. Upon entering the target area, coalition forces called for a building's occupants to come out, and the occupants complied without incident. The ground force found multiple weapons and detained five other suspects on site.

Meanwhile, south of Mosul, coalition forces captured a wanted individual believed to be a military commander familiar with improvised-explosive-device attacks and an associate of senior al Qaeda leaders in the area.

In other operations in the Beiji area, coalition forces detained two suspects while targeting foreign-terrorist facilitators, media networks and al Qaeda leaders responsible for improvised-explosive-device attacks in the region. "We are continuing to take the fight to the enemy," Danielson said. "Iraqi and coalition forces are diminishing al Qaeda's ability to attack the Iraqi people."

Elsewhere in Iraq yesterday, soldiers with 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, joined with Iraqi National Police officers in recovering a cache in eastern Baghdad. The find, made by soldiers of Company C, 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, and officers of 1st Battalion, 4th Brigade, 1stIraqi National Police Division, consisted of two mines and eight magazines, along with one radio. This was the sixth time in three weeks that Iraqi security forces had recovered a cache in eastern Baghdad.

In earlier operations:

-- Baghdad soldiers seized two suspected extremists and uncovered two caches during ongoing operations in the Rashid district of the Iraqi capital Nov. 9. "Warriors" from Company C, 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, attached to 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, detained two men suspected of terrorist activities and identified by Iraqi security volunteers. The suspects are being held for further questioning.

-- Soldiers of Company D., 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry, found a weapons cache Nov. 9 in the Jazair neighborhood. The cache consisted of a rocket-propelled-grenade launcher, a PKC machine gun with two barrels, three RPG rounds and eight RPG boosters, a 60 mm mortar tube and two rounds, a bolt-action rifle, an AK-47 with 19 full magazines, four hand grenades, a suicide vest, three sets of body armor, about 3,000 rounds of small-arms ammunition, and 22 ski masks.

-- The "Black Lions" of Company C, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, attached to Task Force 1-18, part of the 4th Interim Brigade Combat Team. Soldiers found eight mortar rounds of various sizes, four RPG rounds, two rocket fuses, five radios, and a set of body armor. Both caches were taken to a coalition base for disposal.

–- Iraqi police conducted a combined operation with coalition forces against al Qaeda in Iraq west of Samarra on Nov. 9. During the operation, seven insurgents were killed, four were detained, and a weapons cache was secured.

–- Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 502nd Airborne, found a large cache during a combat patrol in Haswa on Nov. 9. The soldiers discovered the cache while setting up a cordon. They found a building containing 22 blocks of C4, one improvised Claymore mine, one propane tank of accelerant, and one 125 mm mortar round. Upon finding the cache, located near an area mosque, the soldiers called in an explosive ordnance disposal team to destroy the cache. All munitions found were destroyed in place.

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)

Great News from Iraq

Day after day I get releases and stories from those serving in the military about what is going on in the Iraq, Afghanistan and the surrounding areas. WOW! I have to tell you it's pretty much great news.

Yes, we're still losing lives and I wish it didn't have to be. I'd love to live in a world where we didn't have to fight to live free. But we do. I firmly believe if we let our guard down we'll someday go down... and it won't be pretty. I thank God for those who are willing to do everything in their power to keep my family safe and give them a brighter future.

So, I get all this great news and yet I don't read it anywhere in the main stream media.

Why not?

I know I'm not the first to ask that question and I've heard a hundred answers. But it just doesn't make sense.

Isn't it great that we have the Internet and we have the ability to bypass the mainstream media if we choose? It doesn't seem to stop the vast majority from walking in their sleep believing whatever headlines they may hear or read. But it is helping to put another perspective on the table.

A note to all of our fine military personnel: THANKS!!!