DVIDS May 29

An Afghan-international security force used precision air strikes to kill the Taliban shadow governor of Baghlan province and several of his fighters last night.

Aircraft were called to a rural area in Baghlan-e Jadid district after human intelligence sources confirmed two vehicles were transporting insurgents and weapons through the area. Before engaging, coalition forces waited until the vehicles were well clear of any structures to minimize the possibility of civilian casualties. When the armed passengers left the vehicles they were engaged and killed by aircraft.

A ground security force then entered the area and came under fire from insurgents in a nearby cave. The assault force returned fire, killing several insurgents who were heavily armed with a heavy machine gun, multiple rocket propelled grenades, automatic rifles, hand-grenades, ammunition and communications equipment.

The Taliban shadow governor was responsible for organizing and directing attacks against coalition forces. He was in constant contact with Kunduz and Pakistani Taliban senior leaders, providing updates and receiving guidance. Sources told coalition forces the Taliban forces had been planning an attack on a nearby Afghan National Police outpost.

An Afghan-international security force killed several insurgents and captured several others in Kandahar province this morning.

The combined force moved to a compound and surrounding areas south of Kudeza’I, in the Zharay district, after intelligence information verified insurgent activity. As the assault force approached, several armed individuals took up fighting positions in a nearby wood line and orchard. The combined force called for the individuals to surrender, but the individuals began firing machine guns and rocket propelled grenades at the security force. The assault force returned fire and began clearing the compound and immediate area.

Several insurgents were killed and captured after the lengthy firefight. The combined force found several planted IEDs in the area, as well as rocket propelled grenades, heavy machine guns, multiple automatic rifles, hand-grenades, ammunition and communications equipment.

Another Afghan-international security force detained several individuals suspected of insurgent activity in Khost province this morning.

The combined force went to a building in the village of Shegay, Musa Khel district, after intelligence information found insurgent activity. The men suspected of insurgent involvement were detained during a search of the building and the surrounding area.

The joint force found rocket propelled grenades and automatic rifles at the site.

No shots were fired and no one was harmed in the operation.

A different Afghan-international security force captured a Taliban weapons facilitator and another militant in Wardak province this morning.

The combined force went to a compound east of Soltan Kheyl, Sayyidabad district, after intelligence information confirmed insurgent activity. The assault force detained a suspected Taliban facilitator believed to be responsible for buying and distributing weapons to Taliban networks, and another suspected insurgent, while searching the buildings.

The security force came under fire from a sniper and returned fire, killing him.

The search team found multiple automatic rifles and ammunition.

A separate Afghan-international security force captured a Taliban commander and several individuals suspected of militant activity in Kandahar province yesterday.

The Taliban commander was captured after the security team interdicted a vehicle in the Panjwa’i district after intelligence information confirmed militant activity. He is responsible for planning and executing attacks against coalition forces and was also involved in kidnappings and weapons facilitation.

The suspects were captured without incident.

DVIDS May 30

An Afghan-international security force detained several individuals suspected of insurgent activity in Helmand province this morning.

The suspected insurgents were detained during a search of a compound in Bar Nowzad-e Gharbi, Now Zad district, after intelligence information indicated insurgent activity.

Another Afghan-international security force detained several individuals suspected of insurgent activities in Kandahar province last night.

The combined force detained the suspected insurgents in a compound near Gondigan, west of Kandahar City, after intelligence information discovered militant activity. The search team found weapons and communications equipment in the compound.

No shots were fired and no Afghans were harmed in the above operations.

An insurgent mortar team was killed by a precision air strike in Paktiya province yesterday.

The mortar team fired on coalition forces from a rural area in the Zormat district. As the mortar team attempted to drive away after the attack, coalition aircraft engaged the vehicle with a precision air strike, killing the insurgents.

A ground search team found a mortar system and mortar propellant in the vehicle.

Afghan and ISAF partners conducted a combined operation early Saturday morning near Sangbor, Helmand province, to disrupt a criminal Taliban group responsible for supplying roadside bomb components.

As the combined force approached the compound of interest, several men were observed fleeing from the compound. One of the men presented a threat to the force and was killed, while the other men were detained. Several women and children were protected in this operation.

Marines of Alpha Company, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, carry on with their daily exercise routines, May 16. They lived out of their vehicles for five months in the deserts of Helmand province, Afghanistan. Photo by Lance Cpl. Benjamin Crilly

Cpl. Brandon T. Templeton, a team leader from Garden City, Mich., lived out of his vehicle for five months, conducting security operations in the deserts of Helmand province, Afghanistan.

Templeton, along with more than 140 Marines and sailors of Alpha Company, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, deployed in December so they could begin desert operations in the cold Afghan winter. Their deployment took them through May, when they worked under the Afghan sun day in and day out.

Living out of a vehicle sounds better than it was for the service members. For the Marines of 2nd LAR, it meant sleeping in the dirt on whichever side of their vehicles wasn’t being pounded by the unforgiving desert winds. Their vehicles were laden with backpacks containing all their gear everything they had while roaming the desert. The company combat operations center was housed in one vehicle and only had three seats for Marines to sustain operations throughout the deployment.

“It was like a long family road trip,” stated Templeton.

Most family road trips include rest stops and nights spent in hotels. Templeton and his comrades had no showers or bathrooms. Baby wipes and a bottle of water were considered a good shower out in the desert. The Marines had no running water sources, so their water was strapped to the side of a vehicle in makeshift Hesco crates. Resupplies were conducted internally every three to four days. This was when they received their Meals, Ready-to-Eat, mail, vehicle parts and more water until their next resupply.

LAR came and left during an interesting timeframe. They battled the winter chills for the first few months of their deployment. Then they rolled right through the spring and into the soaring summer temperatures. Insects became their closest friends and worst enemies, keeping them awake at night and buzzing around them throughout the days. With just a vehicle in the middle of the desert, the Marines had to rely on camouflage netting and the vehicle to provide any shade.

“The living conditions were horrible, but it had to be done,” said Sgt. Peter T. McEntee, a section leader with Weapons platoon, who preferred the cold over the flies.

Staff Sgt. Jose E. Garcia, the communications chief for Alpha Company, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, uses Training Exercise Straps of the side of his vehicle the deserts of Helmand province, Afghanistan, May 16. The vehicle was not only their home and gym over the battalion's five-month deployment, but it also served the battalion's combat operations center. Photo by Lance Cpl. Benjamin Crilly

Marines are known around the world for physical and combat fitness, and LAR was no exceptions. With no weights or equipment available, they found ways to work out off the side of the vehicles with Training Exercise Straps. Bicep curls were performed with ammunition cans on a pipe. Staff Sgt. Jose E. Garcia, the communications chief from Sweetwater, Texas, made his own medicine ball out of duck tape and had developed a workout regimen. Other Marines opened the back of the vehicles and used the entrance handgrips to perform pull-ups. For sit-ups, Marines sat on top of a tire and used the vehicle’s leverage to hold them in place.

The only time that the Marines were able to go back to Camp Dwyer to shower and use a computer was when their vehicles needed to be serviced beyond what their mechanics could do in the desert. This only happened maybe once a month for the Marines of 2nd LAR.

The Marines turned over with Echo Company, 1st LAR, May 19, after five months and returned to Camp Dwyer caked in dirt as they readied to re-deploy to Camp Lejeune, N.C.

DVIDS
Story by Lance Cpl. Benjamin Crilly

First Lt. Timothy McCormick, assistant operations officer, Brigade Headquarters Group, Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan, drinks freshly-purified water with locals. The water was cleaned with the solar-powered water purification system assembled here, Feb. 16. The system cleans out bacteria and diseases in the water, making it safe for locals to drink.

NAW-ABAD, Helmand province, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan – Marines with Brigade Headquarters Group, Marine Expeditionary Brigade–Afghanistan, assembled a solar-powered water purification system here, Feb. 16, in order to provide the community with clean, drinkable water.

Cpl. David T. Bernabe, a combat engineer with Brigade Headquarters Group, Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan, opens solar panels on a solar-powered water purification system here, Feb 16. The water purification system can filter 60 gallons of water per minute. (Photo by: Lance Cpl. Franklin E. Mercado)

This is the first time the system is being used outside of Camp Leatherneck, said 1st Lt. Timothy McCormick, the assistant operations officer with BHG.

The system requires little to set up and is very efficient. The water purification system can filter water at a maximum rate of 60 gallons every minute.

Its ability to run with very little effort from the user makes the system simple. Because it is low maintenance and runs on solar energy, the only thing the user needs to do is change filters as they get dirty.

“The simplicity of the system makes this a great opportunity for these people to have clean water,” said McCormick. “The clean water will be rid of most of the bacteria and diseases it [typically] contains.”

Due to the contamination in the water, locals are not drinking as much water as they should, which leads to dehydration, said McCormick.
If the system is successful, it will encourage the usage of the purification system elsewhere, said McCormick.

“We filtered non-potable water through the purification system while it was on Camp Leatherneck,” said Navy Lt. j.g. Jefferson Moody, environmental health officer with MEB–Afghanistan. “The system got rid of most of the bacteria in the water and made it safe to drink.”

“Depending on how well the people are helped by the purification system, consideration will be taken to figure out where else we can set them up,” said McCormick.

DVIDS
Story by: Lance Cpl. Franklin E. Mercado

A 12-man team put in a place a 36-meter long bridge across a strategic stretch of the Nahr-e-Bughra canal near the town of Shaheed in northern Nad-e-Ali. The town and canal were both seized by British and Afghan forces as part of Operation Moshtarak. Commanders took the decision to order the bridge to be put in place because more routes across the canal were needed to ensure supplies got to infantry troops on the ground. (Photo by: Cpl. Sean Killen)

The first phase of a Marine offensive in a former Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan’s Helmand province is nearing completion, the Pentagon’s No. 2 official said, March 2.

As the military operations of the roughly 15,000 NATO and Afghan forces that have been engaged in Operation Moshtarak since Feb. 13 begin to wind down, the focus in the Marja section of central Helmand is shifting from clearing out the enemy to holding the gains the operation has brought about.

“Our strategy, however, recognizes that military action is only the first step in a successful transition,” Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III said today. “The Afghan government and security forces must ultimately take responsibility for security and governance.”

Lynn said U.S. Marines are working alongside Afghan and U.S. civilians to help establish government services in Marja, where the raising of the Afghan government flag at a ceremony last week symbolized the end of Taliban dominion in the region.

Speaking to members of the American Legion, Lynn described continued resistance in Marja in the form of homemade bombs known as improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, which were littered across the area ahead of the operation, according to reports.

“Our soldiers are exposed to great risks daily,” he said, “from IEDs, snipers and suicide attacks.”

U.S. and NATO military officials remarked publicly for months before the offensive on the strategic importance of the southern Afghanistan region and the goal to clear the area of Taliban fighters. The rationale was to allow low-level Taliban fighters the chance to flee, and to warn civilians of the impending attack, officials said.

Marja has been characterized as representing the first test of President Barack Obama’s strategy to add 30,000 more troops in the fight against Afghanistan-based insurgents. As the initial phase of operations comes to a close, Lynn said, Marja has emerged as an area where hope is returning.

“Because of our new strategy, and President Obama’s deployment of additional troops, Marja is one of many cities in Afghanistan that has begun to have hope,” he said. “And with Pakistan’s capture of key Taliban leaders, the strategy of targeting adversaries on both sides of the border is paying off.”

The capture in Pakistan last month of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar — the Taliban’s second-in-command to Mohammad Omar and the top operational commander — had been described previously by the White House as a “significant win.” News of the apprehension came last month amid reports that NATO and Afghan forces had yielded early progress — and some stiff resistance — against Taliban fighters ostensibly under Baradar’s command in Marja and elsewhere in central Helmand.

“We still have a long road ahead,” Lynn said, “but we are working hard with the Afghan government and with our partners to shift the momentum in our favor.”

DVIDS
Story by John Kruzel

Package about civil affairs Marines on patrol in the city of Marjah as part of Operation Moshtarak. Produced by Sgt. Jenn Calaway.

Interviewees:
• 1st Lt. Aran Walsh (US)
• Gunnery Sgt. Larry Trimmer (US)

Package about the flag-raising ceremony over the war-torn city of Marjah, giving the city and newly established government center back to the people after Operation Moshtarak. Produced by Sgt. Jennifer Calaway.

British Army Maj. Gen. Patrick Carter (GB), Commander of ISAF Regional Command [RC] South and Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson (US), MEB-A Commanding General talk to a military reporter about returning Marjah back to the Afghans free of taliban influence and intimidation and the efforts of the Marines and Afghan forces during Operation Moshtarak. Video by 1st Lt. Joe Reney

The Afghan flag-raising ceremony in the Marjah District Center, Helmand province, Afghanistan, attended by the Helmand provincial governor, the Marjah district governor and numerous members of NATO-ISAF. Video by 1st Lt. Joe Reney

Col. Randall Newman talks to a military reporter about a flag raising over the city of Marjah and what it means for his Marines and the Afghanistan people in the region.

U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Jesse Underwood engages enemy forces during Operation Moshtarak in Badula Qulp, Afghanistan, Feb. 19, 2010. The International Security Assistance Force operation is an offensive mission being conducted in areas of Afghanistan prevalent in drug-trafficking and Taliban insurgency. Underwood is from Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment. (DoD photo by Tech. Sgt. Efren Lopez, U.S. Air Force)

Lance Cpl. Ryan Hogan, a rifleman with 3rd Platoon, India Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, leaps over an irrigation canal while on a patrol in Marjah, Helmand province, Afghanistan, Feb. 21, 2010. The Marines and soldiers from the Afghan National Army patrolled through a residential area of the city as part of Operation Moshtarak, a push to rid Marjah of Taliban presence and intimidation. Photo by Lance Cpl. Tommy Bellegarde

A Marine with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, walks through the bazaar in Marjeh, Afghanistan, Feb. 19. Marines with Bravo Company, 1/6, have set about securing the key community centers in the city in order to allow locals to return to their homes. Photo by Lance Cpl. James W. Clark

Marines with Alpha Company, 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion build a makeshift bridge over a canal in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Feb. 11. Alpha Company built numerous makeshift bridges, in order for Marines and vehicles to have a clear route to the Taliban stronghold Marjah. Photo by Lance Cpl. Walter Marino