A SOLDIER'S PERSPECTIVE
THE WEB'S LEADING MILITARY BLOG SINCE 2004
I got an email from “the Army” about these IED Roll-ups. While I’m glad that people are out there looking for OPSEC violations, I think they are slacking a little in their research. I was asked a key question in the email: “are you ensuring that specific unit related information and route information is not published to ensure the safety of soldiers and Marines?” Now, I have to admit I was a little offended.
Obviously, they aren’t READING my IED roll-ups to figure that out themselves. I can’t help but wonder if I was sent a mass email with a brief change to the first sentence relating to my specific focus. Their goal in sending the email wasn’t to curtail what I’m posting, “but only to ensure that specific identifying information” wasn’t getting read by the enemy. After all, anti-Iraqi forces and terrorists owe their resilience in part to their “canny exploitation of the Internet“. However, if the information I’m releasing is detrimental to our success in Iraq, then there is a bigger problem than this site. I get all my information from press releases, newsletters, and in-theatre Command Information Releases that are openly available to the public. If I can piece together this information with such ease, so can the enemy.
I understand what the Army is doing. After all, there are many soldiers out there who just don’t get it. They create blogs to get out the story but don’t think about the fact that they’re helping seal their own fates. I’ve emailed many bloggers about the fact that they openly release their mailing addresses, names of fellow soldiers, and daily activities (to include where they’ve been and where they’re going). This kind of information creates a roadmap for terrorists. All they have to do is a little pattern analysis to find out where to strike next and be successful.
All the information I post does not mention routes, specific locations, times, or individuals involved. I ensure that I don’t post unit strengths and especially weaknesses. I’ve been in the business of protecting our troops AND this country for more than 11 years. Even if the publicly available information from which I get my IED stats mentions these areas, I edit them out before publishing them here. Rest assured that no soldier will die or be injured by information you find on this site.
With that said, let’s get this thing started. I’m gonna be a little short this time since I had to run off at the mouth first. I’ll start with a report from Afghanistan:
February 17 – An Afghan turned a cache of explosives and ammunition in to U.S. forces near Forward Operating Base Ghanzi.
Among the items turned in were 75 cans of 14.5-mm rounds, 11 107-mm rockets, 19 75-mm recoilless rifle rounds and 100 82-mm mortar rounds.
And now back to Iraq…
February 12 – The 2nd Battalion 2nd Brigade 5th Iraqi Army Division, advised by U.S. Army Special Forces Soldiers, conducted assaults on two targets in Diyala Province, detaining 102 persons of interest, killing two insurgents and discovering a large weapons cache. The weapons cache contained one Katusa rocket, two 155 mm artillery rounds, two 120 mm mortar rounds, three 60 mm mortar rounds, three rocket-propelled grenades, an RPG launcher, three AK-47 assault rifles, and a collection of IED-making materials including electrical wire and fuses.
February 13 – Not entirely good news, but an IED wasn’t laid in. Soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division working with Coalition troops shot at a terrorist after observing him emplacing a bomb in a bag at an intersection near a police station. The insurgent was wounded in the shooting but grabbed the bag and fled, eluding capture by troops. No Coalition injuries or damages were reported in the incident.
February 14 – Happy Valentine’s Day. Soldiers from the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Battalion, 7th Iraqi Army Division and Coalition troops detained 12 insurgents and found 9 caches during operations in the Haditha area. The caches held a variety of ordnance, including one 130 mm artillery round, 97 120 mm mortar rounds, 10 60 mm mortar rounds, one 82 mm mortar round, 24 .50-calliber rounds, 50 14.5 mm rounds, 50 7.62 mm rounds, one AK-47 assault rifle, one machine gun and 20 loaded AK-47 magazines.
February 15 – Third Iraqi Public Order Brigade troops recovered a roadside bomb northwest of Salman Pak in eastern Baghdad. Three Iraqi children led a patrol of three POB soldiers to a bag containing a roadside bomb consisting of an artillery round. The patrol observed three men running from the site. The suspects eluded capture when a second roadside bomb was detonated by terrorists. The original roadside bomb was recovered. I wonder if one of these kids was the one engaged in an arm wrestling competition in my earlier post.
February 16 – This is just too darn funny!! Two terrorists were killed while attacking police and a house bomb was found and cleared during operations. The police officers were initially shot at with small arms and returned fire. One terrorist then attempted to throw a grenade which detonated prematurely killing himself and his nearby accomplice. Later, the same police unit found a building rigged with 700 pounds of nitrate explosive during an area search. A bomb disposal team responded to the site and disarmed the device.
February 17 – Iraqi Army and Multi-National Division — Baghdad Soldiers found and destroyed 11 roadside bombs and three weapons caches. The first cache consisted of 19 x RPGs, 18 x RPG 7M rounds, one Russian-made light anti-tank weapon, one 120 mm mortar tube, three 82 mm mortar tubes, two RPK light machine guns, one FNL assault rifle, one SA-7 surface-to-air missile (no launcher), 22 x 120mm, 25 x 129 mm, five 107 mm, two 125 mm artillery rounds and eight 82 mm, eight 57 mm, seven 80 mm, two 130 mm mortar rounds, 5,000 rounds of 7.62 mm, 1,500 rounds of 12.5 mm, powder charges and Motorola radios. At the site of the cache, the Iraqi and MND-B Soldiers found a terrain model, two fighting positions, and two underground tunnels.
The second weapons cache consisted of one SKS carbine rifle, 400 armor piercing rounds, five RPG rounds, two 30 mm, one 60 mm, one 120 mm, and five 20 mm rounds, an explosive of unknown composition, and 17 155 mm fuses.
The third cache consisted of two 130 mm mortars, six 60 mm mortars, two anti-aircraft guns, two .50 cal machineguns, 17 rockets, one 130 mm mortar round, 18 82 mm mortar rounds, 15 60 mm mortar rounds, six 30 mm rounds, four PG7 anti-tank rounds, 14 RPG rounds, 30 hand grenades, 87 heavy machinegun rounds, 106 anti-aircraft rounds, one crate of .50 cal ammunition, 12 RPG fuses, six RPG boosters, and one bag of gunpowder.
And that’s it for this week’s IED Roll-Up. The approximate number of IEDs that won’t see the light of day this week is 127 (conservative figure). That equates to approximately 1397 people that won’t be affected by an IED, either hurt or killed. ONE WEEK. If you’d like to read all my previous IED reports, click HERE. Til next week…
(24) Readers Comments
Leave a Reply
![[UPDATE] The “Face” of Military Dating Scams – The Wall of Shame](http://militarygear.com/asp/wp-content/themes/LondonLive/thumb.php?src=http://militarygear.com/asp/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/2.jpg&w=53&h=41&zc=1&q=100)
Army Review of PTSD Will Reinforce Combat Veterans Not to Seek Help
Who would WANT a PTSD diagnosis? Only a fraud would. I would give an
Anatomy of a Military Dating Scam
HI EVERYONE, I KNOW THAT THIS JOHN BULLARD JR. IS A SCAMMER FROM E
Donna
Thanks CJ for the rollups. I can’t believe how much “stuff” there is in Iraq!
tblubrd
Just curious – what’s a “terrain model”. The rest of it is pretty self explanatory – but I’m not familiar with that term.
Thanks for the summaries you provide. It just goes on and on, huh? Good work.
CJ
The best way to describe a terrain model is to picture a kid’s sandbox. In the sandbox, a kid may build hills, roads, and buildings. In a terrain model, you build the buildings, roads and other features of your target in as much detail as possible and to scale. The purpose is to plan your attack using visual aids.
Here is a good example of a military one: http://www.defenselink.mil/photos/Nov1998/981031-A-6207H-006.html
click on the picture for a bigger view.
MissBirdlegs in AL
Donna, I was thinking along the same lines. Every time I read one of the “roll-ups”, I wonder if there is just an unlimited supply of “things that go BOOM”. You’d think by now, they’d be running short of supplies!
CJ
Sal, I don’t know. I just found the picture.
Frank Hummel
Here is what I, for one, have to say to “our” US Troops in Iraq (and particularly to all those young would-be recruits who might be considering “joining in” what I regard as the madness):
I just checked the IraqBodyCount website http://icasualties.org/oif/>: the death toll now stands at 2,276 American, plus 204 “other, Allied” military, plus about 300-350 or so “civilian contractor” types, journalists, etc. dead, plus about (estimated) 5,600 Iraqi military dead in the original invasion. (The total for the Americans [only] generally goes up by 2-3 a DAY.)
Add to that 7,735 American “wounded and not returned to duty within 72 hours” (thousands of whom no doubt will now live out the remainder of seriously limited, probably truncated lives as dependents of the society that has actually grievously damaged them, many of them in VA hospitals). Plus God knows how many Iraqi CIVILIAN deaths, numbering (by an “excess deaths” analysis, as published months ago in the British medical journal The Lancet) probably in excess of 100,000 and likely by now well beyond that figure. Plus some unknown number (probably by “modern” warfare standards about three times as many as DEAD) Iraqi civilian casualties COMPARABLY disabled.
Now THAT is what “we” have unleashed on other people and ourselves. And add to all of that too many hundreds of billions of dollars of this nation’s once comfortable “wealth” squandered — resources that are SORELY neded for dealing with our REAL problems and shortcomings.
All of that, I submit, REALLY to “defend” an “AMERICAN OIL EMPIRE”, the OBSCENE wealth of which is what has ACTUALLY, at root, given rise to not only the excesses and depredations in IRAQ, but more generally of MANY of the “authoritarian” regimes of the Arab world and elsewhere that have been in effect SPONSORED AND BANKROLLED by “US” — AND WHICH HAVE IN TURN ACTUALLY GIVEN RISE TO THE VERY EXISTENCE OF “AL-QUAEDA”.
That’s right — “WE” have in reality engendered and underwritten THE WHOLE DAMNED MESS, beginning way back in 1937 with the first forays by American Oil Engineers into Saudi Arabia to drill the first “big” oil well under the aegis of “Aramco”. And now the chickens have truly come home to roost.
Well, maybe it is way past high time. The whole sorry history desperately needs to be DISCREDITED and REPUDIATED — for the RESPONSIBLE purpose of preventing repetitions of such travesties in the future. Those who do not RECOGNIZE their errors are doomed to perpetuate and repeat them. And those who may think that for me or anyone else to recognize and FACE UP to all of that somehow constitutes DISLOYALTY (or for that matter even “merely” being “LIBERAL”) are simply DELUDING each other and themselves.
Many folks don’t seem to feel they should have to care much about other people outside their own precious little GROUPthink circle. And neither, I’m sure, did the Germans under the Nazis — they KNEW they were “right”. The more things change, the more they remain the same.
But I, for one, would propose a more POSITIVE approach —involving COMPLETELY REDIRECTING the non-productive activities of this nation:
COME HOME, guys, and leave it to the Arabs to sort out and rebuild their OWN lives (in rather the same manner as the peoples of Southeast Asia have by now). YOU obviously cannot do it FOR them! YOUR efforts (however well-intentioned on the part of many HONORABLE people) have just brought death and destruction into the lives of many, many others. And it surely is not MY saying it that makes it so, nor would it be any the less so if it went UNSAID, by me or by anybody (or even EVERYbody) else. Rather, it is the death/casualty figures ABOVE that bear INDISPUTABLE witness to the ACTUAL REALITY THAT IS OUT THERE. It simply IS the mean, nasty, ugly, unvarnished God’s honest TRUTH.
YOU need to COME HOME NOW and get busy doing CONSTRUCTIVE and USEFUL things: the sorts of things that would enable your OWN society, and also those of others, to WEAN THEMSELVES OFF of their ADDICTIVE DEPENDENCY ON OTHER PEOPLES’ OIL!
And that will be no small task. Moreover, it is an endeavor FAR more VITAL than the MISBEGOTTEN mission in which you are presently engaged.
What will be needed will be nothing less than to actually, seriously EMBRACE and IMPLEMENT both new and old technologies to COMPLETELY RECONSTITUTE THE ENERGY DIET OF THIS SOCIETY.
We would need HUGE SOLAR-ENERGY-COLLECTION-BOILER STATIONS to be built in OUR OWN deserts (where the sun almost always shines), together with ENERGY STORAGE RESERVOIRS needed to average out the diurnal and annual variations in that flow. We need our OWN COPIES OF THE ITER: the 500 MW THERMONUCLEAR FUSION reactor that is NOW ACTUALLY BEING BUILT in FRANCE (and planned in England). We would need to “BEEF UP” THE POWER GRIDS to transport all that energy around ELECTRICALLY (instead of shipping huge quantities of fossil-fuel materials in tanker ships, trains, trucks, and pipelines that are subject to all sorts of mishaps, and then brainlessly burning them as mere fuels). We need to reconstitute our vehicular fleet to run on HYDROGEN — synthesized IN SITU (i.e. IN THE VEHICLES THEMSELVES), by the ELECTROLYSIS OF ORDINARY WATER, utilizing METAL-HYDRIDE SAFE-STORAGE-OF-HYDROGEN and modern FUEL CELL TECHNOLOGY, supplemented by REGENERATIVE BRAKING (a la the Toyota Prius) to MORE THAN DOUBLE the fuel efficiency and range of much-more-nearly pollution-free vehicles. All of this needs to be SERIOUSLY undertaken on a HIGH-NATIONAL-PRIORITY basis —like YESTERDAY IF NOT SOONER!
Above all, we need to GENERALLY GET BUSY DOING OUR OWN WORK FOR OURSELVES, instead of trying to “globalize” everything and compel others by sheer force of arms to provide for “us”, while “we” cling stubbornly to outmoded technologies.
COME ON HOME, guys, and GET BUSY! There is no reason on God’s blue-green Earth for ANYONE to be “out of work” for probably about the next CENTURY or so. (The ITER, for example, is projected to engender about 150,000 jobs — REAL jobs, doing something genuinely USEFUL — in FRANCE!)
For my part, I sincerely hope the Iranians, the Venezuelans, and others around the world WILL INDEED STAND UP to a US that these days seems inclined to engage in the same sort of IMPERIALISM that it has so long and strongly purported to condemn in others. Sometimes “tough love” is the best policy to bring an errant young “tough” to heel. That might actually indeed be the HEALTHIEST THING FOR “US”!!
Frank Hummel
St. Louis, MO area
I invite your comments; I’m sure many of them may be hostile, but please understand that the views I have expressed are in fact honest and sincerely held, and that however much you may disagree with them, you should be cognizant of the fact that there are many people out here who DO in fact see things along the lines I have (I hope creditably) articulated. We all SHARE this world, and we should be able to talk to one another and share views.)
CJ
Okay, you lost me after the third paragraph. I offer a resounding ‘WHAT THE CRAP WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?’ Sounds like rubbish to me. Another of the “blame America first” antics that I definitely don’t want to hear. I’ll be honest with you, I gave up reading that tirade. Is there a cliff notes to that comment? I got bored and redirected since it had NOTHING to do with this post.
KP
Great work. Been following your rollups from the start. (Note that you’ve got two rollups numbered #14.)
I’m especially intrigued that you regularly highlight certain items in bold, like “Three Iraqi Children”. I assume this is to document that there are friendly locals out there that want to help save lives/prevent harm to both soldiers and civilians. I am very interested in these interactions between our soldiers and friendly locals. How are they communicating to overcome language barriers?
Jarrett Ingalls
CJ(?), in regard to what Frank Hummel said: The truisms of this life are somewhat difficult to hear, because they are long, tiresome to facillitate and usually inflammatory to the vast majority of humans currently residing on this planet. You as well as all the intellectually challenged that have attention spans as short as that of bread mold should just accept the fact that there exist (in the minority, unfortunately) people with vastly superior, higher level thought processes and just be content to accept the forthcoming “suggestions”. For this would be how the human condition will ultimately be greatly improved. Since I suspect that you are indeed human, you definitely would benefit from this as well. Probably not well recieved, but….I could give a rat’s ass!
CJ
Jarrett, you can put the dictionary and thesaurus away now. You put in a valient effort. His “truisms” weren’t that difficult to hear, because I just didn’t listen. That cut and paste nonsense did nothing for anyone. I would use bigger words to respond, but I don’t want to force you to pull down your books again.
Jarrett Ingalls
Funny…….that you know what a “book” is I mean. I thought you guys liked the flammable ones the best? Out here
Jarrett Ingalls
CJ, if you do not mind, I would like to inquire as to your rank, time of service, MOS, etc., etc.? Lot’s of posers out there is all.
CJ
I’m a United State Army Master Sergeant. I’ve been in for 12 years. I don’t tell anyone my MOS. Suffice it to say I work in force protection.
Jarrett Ingalls
I was merely attempting to partake in a bit of mild humor, at a most unhumorous situation. E-8 & in about 12 years smells like Special Ops of some kind. Well thanks for your service and your loyalty to the troops that are actually fighting the politician’s war. I hope all of the guys actually will find whatever it is they were seeking when they signed on. Me I was just chasing the shadow of family tradition-and I really did not end up enjoying it at all.
Rett Ingalls
Sorry, me again…….
I was curious as to your take on the recent rash of small arms ambushes in Iraq? Does this signal a “bolder”, more fervid resistance from the people, I mean insurgents (oops), or simply a change in tactics and strategery? How are we going to extricate (no thesaurus in the house) our nation’s youth from this situation? -Rett
Rett
I have been perusing the postings of these imbeciles, air should not be free for some of the individuals in this our great free country. I really wish I would actually meet one you individuals in person. Are you guys sooooo afraid of life as to actually believe this hyperbole you espouse, or are you guys truly just that frickin evil? Force protection could be a 76Y I suppose- I mean providing the necessary underwear for our troops might be important for the overall protection and well being of the dingleberry manifestations. You people are weak!
CJ
I don’t think we should extricate our youth from this situation. Whether or not you believe that Iraq had anything to do with the war on terror at first, the truth is that the terrorist have made Iraq the center of the war terror themselves. Why leave now when we’ve got them where we want them – where we can fight back?
As for force protection, I could be a 96Y, 11B, 91C, doesn’t matter. Bottom line is I won’t say anyway. I mean, medics protect the force by healing them, cooks protect the force by providing sustenance, trucker drivers protect the force by getting us bullets, and admin guys protect the force by keeping my bank account full.
I’m not a hard person to find. If you really wanted to meet one of us individuals, you’d be able to. If you’re any good at analysis, you’d be able to discern where I’m going to pop up next.
I apologize that your military experience wasn’t what you thought it would be. Being a man isn’t for us all.
Jarrett Ingalls
No me being a man is not for everyone, it is for my own and my family’s own benefit. Not to impress you or any of your silver spoon paper tigers. Go get a rise out of someone else, all you Republican fellows seem to like getting “rises” out other individuals……..kinda explains the whole homophobic tendency.
Rett
CJ
Well that just goes to show how one dimension and ignorant you are. You see, I’ve written numerous times on this site IN SUPPORT OF gays in the military. As a child, BEFORE joining the military I was a homophobe.
Second, and most important, YOU are the one that came in here with the goal of getting a “rise” out of someone. You didn’t succeed and now you’re trying to turn the table on me. A quick and easy glance up the comment roll will plainly show that YOU started with name calling and generally confrontational conversation.
For the record, I’m NOT a Republican or a Democrat. However, the fact that I happen to agree with a lot (but definitely not all) Republican actions proves that I’m in the military and care about my country’s safety and security. While I consider myself an Independent, I would most closely be classified as a Libertarian, though I’m registered as such either. Again, reading more than ONE post of mine would easily show this to be true as I’ve lambasted both the Republicans AND Democrats on many issues.
I know you haven’t gone and read my older (or newer) posts because that would entail more work, something you’re probably not accustomed to seeing as how you want a socialist government that will give everything to you instead of you having to work for it. Additionally, you’d no longer be considered ignorant and actually have to be held accountable for your beliefs.
This is a “Soldier’s Perspective”. If you don’t want to hear, see, or read that particular perspective, you’re free to visit Michael Moore or Cindy Sheehag’s website. However, you’re free to bash me all you want and stick around. I have very thick skin.
By the way, I have to apologize for my comment about your military experience. I am truly thankful for any amount of service you gave to this country. I am sorry it wasn’t what you were looking for, but I appreciate it nonetheless. I generally make it a habit not to question most people’s service regardless of their political position, but I abandoned that value when I made my comment. Please accept my apology and my gratitude.
Let the beatings begin…
Jarrett Ingalls
C’mon my last posting was funny. I do fail to see any relationship between the war in Iraq and terrorism. Iraq was a dictatorship and by definition it functioned solely on the basis of totalitarion rule. Evil, a-hole; Hussein was definitely that; however, he could not afford to have free radicals such as Left or Right wing zealots running about in his country. He had no guarantee that these extremist would have their extremist’s attentions remain focused on the Satan’s outside of their country, for the extremists might very well have turned their attentions inward at the Islamic satan that was in power. “Free Radicals”, tend to have this problem:…….lack of direction….one minute its prayer in schools…then abortion…then same sex marriage….etc…..hmmmph- causeheads.
u said:
“I know you haven’t gone and read my older (or newer) posts because that would entail more work, something you’re probably not accustomed to seeing as how you want a socialist government that will give everything to you instead of you having to work for it. Additionally, you’d no longer be considered ignorant and actually have to be held accountable for your beliefs.”
I say:………. I had been registered Libertarian, until the Party lost its third party status- Now I am unafiliated. You are free to call me what you wish and I must tolerate or pay the price for lacking toleration. Hey freedom aint free right? I learn it new again everyday. I think, Sadaam Hussein had about as much to do with terrorism as my 2.5 year old son, I have always thought that, and will continue to think such until I see some form of tangible evidence in support of an idea that flies in the face of common sense. Now I think we all have heard the arguments where the unproven postulate is used as proof for the (usually inept) conclusion; “We believed he was supporting terror (al-qaeda, wait no other groups have been mentioned)…………..[Later]………”He was known to support terrorism”……….[Later]………”Sadam Hussein, was a leader of an extremist terrorist nation has been brought forth to trial to face charges for war crimes. Would you be in support of not doing anything against Nazis, that would make you a tacit support of the worst buch of meanies this big bad world has ever seen.”
You scared little demo-pubes are all just frightened and do not think for yourselves. I saw your other bombastic posts. For example in regard to a government needing to be in charge of the ports and it ‘scaring you’ if their not, where is the ‘you are free to do as you wish, as long as said freedom does not interfere with me doing the same’, in that sentiment. If you allow a business being in charge of port security to scare you into one camp or another, you have become one of them. You are all afraid of your own shadows………we will all die, just a matter of how and when. I would have attacked dems but I was faced with neophytes not libs, so it seemed counterproductive. Stop being afraid; it is always easier to fight on familiar ground (ie. for surer footing) than on foreign soil where the learning curve is steeper, in other words let them come I and I think we are more than willing to show them what true terror is…………
Just tell me I am boring and continue living in your cloud of bottle fed cowering hostility.
Patriot
So, you’re saying we should allow any Islamic Fundamentalist or Communist-state run company to run our border security because it’s the right thing to do? And you’d rather al Qaeda go ahead and attack us here? Got it…cuckoo!
Rett
No I said: Stop being afraid; it is always easier to fight on familiar ground (ie. for surer footing) than on foreign soil where the learning curve is steeper, in other words let them come I, and I think we, are more than willing to show them what true terror is…………(entered two commas for clarity)
Ever read any Sun Tzu? It is not “cookoo” (for cocoa puffs or anything else), it is easier to succed with a war when the objective is clearly discernible and there exists a unifying force, an enemy, that will serve to unite everyone in a common goal- destruction of said enemy would be that goal. We do not really have that at the present do we?
I do find it interesting that you chose to only respond in regard to the Communist-state run company(incidentally: federation with specified powers delegated to the UAE federal government and other powers reserved to member emirates: from CIA world fact book), And you’d rather al Qaeda go ahead and attack us here? Got it…cuckoo!(I thought alqaeda already did it attack us?- hmmmmmm curious perspective you have) Oh yeah what about the other points?
Jarrett Ingalls
Hey name is Jarrett Ingalls too i have a g-pa named Alexander Ingalls and my dad is Kevin Ingalls my bro is Jeremy Ingalls and the newest member Hailey Ingalls..
I am 14 yrs old and I am a Proud Ingalls Family Memeber!!
Jarrett Ingalls
My grand pa Alexander was a Mechanical Engineer in the Vietnam War E-5 He’s my familys hero!