America's North Shore Journal » Tenth Mountain Division
1st Lt. David A. Provencher – Silver Star
Shots were fired from insurgents at United States Special Operations Forces and Afghan National Army Commandos in the village of Isa Kahn in Kunduz province, Afghanistan. They radioed for a quick reaction force to assist in the fight. 1st Lt. David A. Provencher, then 4th Platoon Leader, Charlie Company, 1-87 Infantry Regiment and his team answered the call. Upon arrival at the village he dismounted and joined the SOF and ANA service members in the fight. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Heroes, Military, Tenth Mountain Division, War on Terror, WOT Heroes
Medic Treats Himself After Being Shot by Sniper
“I was probably two feet from my door of my truck when I heard gun fire and it felt like someone just cracked me in the right shoulder blade with a hammer,” said Spc. Matthew Mortensen of Olathe, Kan. The combat medic with 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, was part of a presence patrol conducting a neighborhood search, Dec. 10, in an area historically known for weapons caches, rockets and mortars. As the patrol walked the streets, a mounted element went from check point to check point providing security for them. Having reached the last check point, Staff Sgt. Manoj Prasad of Watertown, N.Y., and Mortensen dismounted to maneuver the trucks into a static security posture, when shots were fired. “I saw a bullet hole in his shirt, and when I … Read entire article »
Filed under: Iraq, Tenth Mountain Division, War on Terror
Mosque makeover in Afghanistan
Mullahs, or Muslim religious leaders throughout Baraki Barak in Logar Province, Afghanistan, gathered at the local District Center to receive Mosque improvement packages, distributed by Soldiers from Task Force Iron Titan, September 16-17. The Mosque kits included several large rugs, a smaller prayer rug for the Mullah, paint, a new speaker system, and light bulbs. Possibly, the most important part of the kits was solar panels to provide electricity for the Mosque. Local families also received humanitarian aid packages including blankets, sweaters, rice, peas and other goods. Several humanitarian aid packages were also given to each Mullah to distribute to the neediest families within their local outreach. “We gave away $85,000 worth of stuff in two days,†said Staff Sgt. Dwaine Hood, a forward observer with Able Troop, 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Green, Rebuilding, Tenth Mountain Division, War on Terror
Another Hero: Sgt 1st Class Jared C. Monti
The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died in Gowardesh, Afghanistan, on June 21, 2006, when they encountered enemy forces using small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades during combat operations. Both soldiers were assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 71st Calvary, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y. Killed were: Sgt. 1st Class Jared C. Monti, 30, of Raynham, Mass. Staff Sgt. Patrick L. Lybert, 28, of Ladysmith, Wis. DoD Sergeant First Class (SFC) Jared C. Monti, a Military Occupational Specialty 13F Fire Support Specialist, was a Targeting NCO assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, New York. He distinguished himself by acts of conspicuous gallantry above and beyond the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Heroes, Jared Monti, Military, Tenth Mountain Division, War on Terror, WOT Heroes, WOT Medal of Honor
Life at the Front in Afghanistan
Next to a small village in Afghanistan’s fertile Jalrez Valley, a platoon of U.S. soldiers busy themselves fortifying a fighting position, stringing concertina wire, aiming mortars, and filling lots and lots of sand bags. “Apache,†a U.S. military combat outpost, is housed in an abandoned former district agricultural building. It is flanked by a school and medical clinic on its east. Villagers tend to an orchard that runs along its west side, and to the north a handful of farmers care for cattle and crops. It seems an unlikely spot for coalition forces to go toe-to-toe with the Taliban and other enemy fighters who use this valley for staging attacks in nearby areas, such as the capital city of Kabul. But the outpost is the front line in a fight against … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Rebuilding, Tenth Mountain Division, War on Terror
Clearing the Tangi: Task Force Takes Troubled Valley
Flexing for the first time the massive military muscle now deployed to this area, coalition forces cleared one of its most troubled insurgent hotspots, sending a forceful message to insurgent fighters here that the coalition will go wherever, whenever it wants. The three-day operation wrapped up yesterday and took hundreds of troops deep into the Tangi, a valley of narrow roads and steep cliffs that runs along the Logar River through the southeastern part of Wardak province opening into Logar province. The area has seen few coalition forces for the past eight months after a small U.S. military team was brutally attacked and four were killed there last summer. Shortly after the first few soldiers with the 10th Mountain Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team arrived here in February, they sent a little larger … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Tenth Mountain Division, War on Terror
