Stryker units in action: media of the day

[akd]

Sergeant Major George Crisostomo ride's a local child's bike in jest while patrolling with other members of the 1st Infantry, 17th Regiment as part of an effort to provide security in preparation for Iraq's first post-Saddam parliamentary elections. The western sector is home to Mosul's primarily Sunni population, which has been resistant to the American presence in Iraq.

[akd]

http://www4.army.mil/OCPA/uploads/large/CSA-2006-01-19-094707.jpg

A Soldier from Company C, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, keeps an eye out for anti-Iraqi forces during an early morning raid in Mosul.

[MikeyD]

That's the first time I've seen the line "anti-Iraqi forces" in a press release. Haw! I knew Rumsfeld had sworn-off the word 'insurgents' but I didn't know what he was planning to replace it with. I bet they had a lot of focus-group meetings to come up with that line! The word 'resistance fighters' or 'guerillas' must've just sounded too neutral.

[Peter Cairns]

Of course the last picture will turn up in the arab media as

"Evil Americans steal Bikes from Children".

Peter.

[Battlefront.com]

Mikey, AIF (Anti-Iraqi Forces) was in use before "insurgency", IIRC. Certainly dates back to summer of '04.

Steve

[Rick]

As a photographer I don't really like seeing copyrighted work being used without permission, but beyond that on a practical note, I'd watch it with Corbis. They are gigantic and could eat anyone here for lunch.

[akd]

I trained and have worked as a photographer, also, and I don't feel those have strayed anywhere near the realm of unfair or commercial use. They are also direct linked from Corbis and watermarked. However, I do wish I could figure out who the photographer is.

[ January 19, 2006, 09:33 PM: Message edited by: akd ]

[Rick]

Yeah, I certainly don't think they would do anything about this usage, almost borderline the kind of school project use (you know back when we put a collage together from National Geographic for some sort of school project) that is acceptable under some sort of exception that I can't remember the legal terminology describing it.

Very interesting to see another photographer on this forum. I have a portfolio review scheduled with an editor from Corbis at a conference I'm going to next month. The review is mainly organized for critiquing/educational purposes, the reviewers are supposed to give us advice on marketing methods that would work for our style, but there's always the chance of business coming out of it.

[akd]

Originally posted by Rick:

Yeah, I certainly don't think they would do anything about this usage, almost borderline the kind of school project use (you know back when we put a collage together from National Geographic for some sort of school project) that is acceptable under some sort of exception that I can't remember the legal terminology describing it.

Very interesting to see another photographer on this forum. I have a portfolio review scheduled with an editor from Corbis at a conference I'm going to next month. The review is mainly organized for critiquing/educational purposes, the reviewers are supposed to give us advice on marketing methods that would work for our style, but there's always the chance of business coming out of it.

I wish you the best of luck. I decided not to pursue a further career in photography (pj or documentary was my interest, but not my preferred lifestyle) and actually put the camera down for a few years (because even at family events or on vacation I felt like I was "working," which shouldn't be), but now I'm coming back to it, hopefully as a healthy and productive hobby.

[Dogface]

akd,

My Aunt was in the same boat about 20 yrs ago. Once she picked the camera back up and became a "hobbyist" I think the art/skill really came out in her work. More than likely because she was shooting what she wanted to, and not what someone else wanted.

Good Luck getting back to it.

[Rick]

I'm a wildlife photographer, which has some photojournalism like characteristics. For instance last time I had one of these reviews with the editor from Ranger Rick, she said I needed to shoot a little bit more journalistically. I'm completely addicted and can't imagine not trying to make a life out of it. I currently get published occasionally and make some money at it, but still need another job. Hopefully, I'll soon be well known enough that I can't start leading photo safaris, etc. to increase the income flow.

Anyhow, boy are we off topic now.

[akd]

U.S. Army Cpl. Reginald Shronce with Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st. Infantry Regiment, 172nd. Styker Brigade, Combat Team, throws soccer balls to Iraqi children during a foot patrol in Mosul Iraq, Jan. 18, 2006. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. John M. Foster) (Released)

Benning sergeant earns Silver Star

BY MICK WALSH

Staff Writer

The citation accompanying Thursday's award of the Silver Star to a Fort Benning soldier for his heroic actions in Iraq reads more like an action movie script.

But for Staff Sgt. Shannon Kay, now a member of the 2nd Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment, what transpired on Dec. 11, 2004, was far from Hollywood fiction.

Then a squad leader of a Fort Lewis, Wash., Stryker outfit stationed near Mosul, Kay was manning the left-rear air guard hatch of his vehicle at a traffic stop when, without notice, a car broke the traffic pattern and accelerated toward the Stryker. Kay's gunner alerted him to the approaching car, prompting him to fire a warning off the front of the vehicle.

The vehicle did not stop, accelerating instead. Kay shot the driver, but the car was still able to impact the rear of his Stryker, exploding into a massive fireball. The fireball was enormous and the Kevlar blankets, tires and other components of the Stryker caught fire.

The entire area was littered with burning debris. Kay was wounded in four places and had six other casualties on the Stryker. Despite being wounded, he got his back ramp open and began evacuating his crew from the burning vehicle. Immediately, the position came under heavy fire from enemy small arms, rocket-propelled grenades and indirect mortar fire. Kay was bleeding from shrapnel wounds to the head, arm and hand, but he refused medical attention, instead focusing his efforts on ensuring all his men were evacuated and on extinguishing the fire on the Stryker.

The Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., native, who lives with his wife, Julie, and son, Killian, in Phenix City, then turned his attention to the enemy and moved through the perimeter, engaging and destroying an RPG team that attempted to maneuver on the disabled Stryker.

While still under fire, Kay moved from Stryker to Stryker in his unit, securing additional equipment to get his Stryker back in the fight. He put his crew back in the smoldering Stryker and brought its heavy firepower to bear. After approximately 45 minutes of heavy fighting and after Kay killed at least eight of the enemy, the battalion commander called for a gradual withdrawal back to the forward operating base to treat casualties.

Kay, who was honored at a special Pioneer Field ceremony by the post's deputy commander, Brig. Gen. Jim Yarbrough, is currently an instructor with the 2-29 in the U.S. Army Squad Designated Marksmanship Program.

The Silver Star is presented to any person who, while serving in any capacity with the United States Armed Forces, is cited for gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force.

The decoration is also awarded for those who are serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party. The required gallantry, while of a lesser degree than that required for award of the Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross or Air Force Cross, must nevertheless have been performed with marked distinction.

Army sniper, possibly Stryker unit:

Iraq battlefield/hellish vista:

[ January 20, 2006, 02:00 PM: Message edited by: akd ]

[akd]

Pentagon Looks into Recent Helicopter Crashes in Iraq

Gerry J. Gilmore

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON – The Pentagon is seeking answers as to why three U.S. helicopters have crashed in Iraq within the past two weeks, a senior Defense Department official said here today.

“Is there a pattern? Certainly, in recent weeks three helicopters have gone down. Nothing has been ruled in or out in any of those three cases yet,” DoD spokesman Lawrence Di Rita told Pentagon reporters.

Twelve U.S. service members and four civilians were killed as the result of three separate helicopter crashes that occurred in Iraq this month:

Two U.S. Soldiers died Monday when their AH-64 Apache helicopter crashed north of Taji;

On Jan. 13, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team Soldiers responded to an OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter crash in Mosul that killed two U.S. Soldiers; and

Eight Soldiers, including four Alaska National Guardsmen, and four civilians were killed Jan. 7 when their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed near Tal Afar.

Di Rita also said military aviation experts are examining whether the terrorists are targeting U.S. helicopters by some new means.

“Is there a new threat out there that we need to be more aware of?” Di Rita posited. However, he cautioned reporters not to jump to any conclusions.

“The first reports are very often wrong,” Di Rita said.

All three crashes are being investigated, he said.

http://www.usarak.army.mil/alaskapost/Jan20Story9.asp

Ready to roll

Schofield prepares to welcome its first Strykers next month

By Gregg K. Kakesako

Tropic Lightning soldiers checked out a Stryker combat vehicle outfitted to carry soldiers back in July 2004, when Schofield Barracks officials brought one from the mainland. The first of the 25th Division's 300 Strykers is expected to arrive here next month.

THE FIRST of Schofield Barracks' 300 eight-wheel, 19-ton Stryker combat vehicles will arrive in the islands early next month, with the rest expected in groups of 30 beginning in late summer.

Ron Borne, head of the Schofield Barracks transformation process, said the 25th Infantry Division's nearly billion-dollar conversion of its 2nd Brigade Combat Team to the Army's sixth Stryker brigade is "ongoing and on schedule."

During a recent interview, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, 25th Division commander, said his 2nd Brigade Combat Team, which spent a year in Iraq, received 810 additional soldiers last fall. "We're just about 100 percent strength as far as soldiers are concerned. They are now undergoing systems training, and they will begin their detailed training with their vehicles this summer."

Borne added that by the time the Stryker combat brigade is operational in May 2007, it will be have nearly 3,900 soldiers. It will include three infantry battalions, a cavalry squadron, an artillery battalion, a support battalion, a military intelligence company, an engineer company, a signal company and an anti-tank company.

The first of the 25th Division's 300 Strykers is expected to arrive here next month.

Borne said a medical ambulance version of the Stryker -- one of 11 different ways the Stryker will be configured -- will be sent to Hawaii from the Army Materiel Command at Fort Belvoir, Va. Borne said it will probably be retained as part of the 2nd Brigade's fleet.

The armored vehicle can be outfitted with anything from 105 mm cannons to medical supplies, and used as a battlefield ambulance to command and intelligence centers. The Stryker is supposed to be operational even when four of its wheels have been shot out.

As a reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition vehicle, the Stryker can be equipped with a Shadow unmanned aircraft, a drone, as well as electronic intelligence systems and portable anti-missiles.

As a troop carrier, these combat vehicles -- the first the Army has produced in 20 years -- can travel up to 60 mph and carry 11 soldiers.

Borne said that by this fall the rest of the Strykers will arrive in batches of about 30 at Schofield Barracks, depending on the Army's transportation schedule. Each Stryker will cost more than $1.5 million.

Mixon wants to have the Stryker ambulance vehicle on display at the Honolulu Convention Center during the Great Aloha Run next month.

THE STRYKER, WHOSE development was pushed by former Army Chief of Staff Eric Shinseki, was introduced to combat two years ago in Iraq. One of its key features is the use of digital electronics that link vehicles not only with each other, but with soldiers wearing wireless communications gear.

Twenty-eight military construction projects are planned, to prepare Schofield Barracks and the Big Island's Pohakuloa Training Area for the new Stryker unit, at a total cost of $693 million.

Borne said Schofield's Stryker soldiers will spend time before the vehicles arrive training with computers and software that will be part of the new combat system, as well as learning tactics that will be used with the new vehicles.

The conversion of the 2nd Combat Brigade Team is just part of the Army's transformation program, which involves the 25th Infantry Division's 3rd Bronco Brigade.

Under the Army's new restructuring, the 3rd Brigade, which is preparing for a year-long Iraq tour beginning in July, will become a stand-alone, self-sufficient unit with 3,500 to 4,000 soldiers able to deploy rapidly.

The Army's new modular brigade system means the Tropic Lightning Division, which now has two infantry brigades stationed at Schofield Barracks, will gain two more infantry units, for a total of four brigade combat teams.

However, Army spokesman Troy Griffin said in a news release that the two new brigades will not be based here and will not fall under the command of Mixon, commanding general of the 25th Division.

BESIDES THE TWO infantry brigades at Schofield Barracks, the 25th Division is affiliated with the 1st Brigade at Fort Lewis in Washington, the Army's second Stryker brigade. The new 25th Division units will be:

» The 4th Brigade Combat Team at Fort Richardson in Alaska, an airborne unit.

» The 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, stationed at Fort Wainwright in Alaska, which is now in Iraq.

Griffin said, however, that the Washington unit is expected to be sent to Germany and will be the core Stryker brigade in the 2nd Cavalry Regiment. When that occurs, the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team will be redesignated as the 25th Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team.

The 25th Division headquarters element, as well as its 3rd Brigade Combat Team, will complete the restructuring process before deploying to Iraq in July.

LAST WEEK, Army Secretary Francis Harvey said in a news release that the 25th Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team is one of 37 combat or support brigades that have either completed transformation to the modular design or are well along in the process.

Harvey added that in 2005, the Army created four new modular brigade combat teams and one Stryker brigade combat team, and completed the transformation of seven existing brigades to the modular design.

The Pentagon plans to move 30,000 soldiers out of non-combat-related skills into more operational or war-fighting jobs, he said. The jobs these soldiers leave behind will be filled by civilians.

The transformational changes have already started to achieve the Army's goal of a more combat-ready force with less strain on deployable units, Harvey said.

The 65-year-old Tropic Lightning Division has fought in all of the nation's wars since World War II. In 1985 it was designated as a rapid-reaction light division, with 17,000 soldiers designed to fight in any hot spot in Asia and the Pacific. Once the current transformation takes place, the 25th Division will lose its designation as a "light" division.

http://starbulletin.com/2006/01/22/news/story06.html

[akd]

Blog of a Fairbanks reporter until recently embedded with the 172nd SBCT:

http://newsminerextra.com/iraq/blog/

Story by same:

MOSUL, IRAQ--Strains of "Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd resonated through the belly of this armored Stryker vehicle rolling early Friday morning along the streets of Mosul. The southern rock anthem was meant to shake the sleep from soldiers inside and help steel them against a rainy, chilly patrol ahead.

http://www.news-miner.com/Stories/0,1413,113~7244~3211953,00.html

Voices from Iraq: Stryker Brigade Staff Sgt. Joshua Lothspeich 1/23/2006

The Daily News has invited Alaska troops serving in the Middle East to write us. Stryker Brigade Staff Sgt. Joshua Lothspeich, a squad leader with Fort Richardson's 4-23 Infantry Regiment, is serving in Mosul and says things are different there than he expected. We're publishing these dispatches every Monday.

Photo courtesy Staff Sgt. Joshua Lothspeich

Stryker Brigade Staff Sgt. Joshua Lothspeich, a

squad leader with Fort Richardson's 4-23

Infantry Regiment, kneels at a watch position in

southeast Mosul.

"... I have always heard and been told that all Muslims and Iraqi people were bad. Right before I left Alaska, I took a class that had to do with religion, and history, which started to change that thought. Now after being here for the short time I realize it is not the religion or the people that are bad. Ninety-five percent of the people here are good and a good majority of those people just want to live their lives. A lot of the people that I talk to are very friendly and like us. None of the people here seem to think of us as infidels because we are not Muslim; that is all just stupid propaganda."

Full entry and others at Voices from Iraq.

[akd]

HIRES

1st Lt. Andrew Brant, from Company A, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, and Mack, his Iraqi interpreter, chat with children during a patrol in Mosul. This photo appeared on www.army.mil.

[ January 24, 2006, 09:31 PM: Message edited by: akd ]

[akd]

Airborne, not Stryker unit, but cool low-light pic. Also, those NODs look different to me for some reason. New type?

U.S. Army Sergeant Jimmy Schumacher (left) and Specialist Stephen Quandt (right), from C Company, 1-327th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, Ft. Campbell, KY, provide security while stopped outside of Forward Operating Base McHenry, Iraq, on Jan. 13, 2006. (U.S. Army photo by Spc Timothy Kingston)

01/20/06 - U.S. Army Soldiers with the 562nd Engineering Company [172nd SBCT], load unexploded ordinance found by police in Badoush Iraq, Jan. 20, 2006. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. John M. Foster)

01/21/06 - U.S. Army Spc. Shawn Aiken, with Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade,Combat Team, provides security during a joint U.S. and Iraqi Army foot patrol in Mosul, Iraq, Jan. 21, 2006. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. John M. Foster)

Another view of the RG-31.

01/19/06 - An RG-31 mine protected vehicle from the U.S. Army's Alpha Company Engineers, 4th Brigade, 101st Airborne Division blocks traffic while U.S. Army Soldiers perform a road clearance outside of Forward Operations Base Loyalty in Baghdad, Iraq, Jan. 19, 2006. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Teddy Wade)

[ January 25, 2006, 11:40 AM: Message edited by: akd ]

[akd]

Sgt. Robert Johnson, from 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, calls in his position during a patrol in Badoush, Iraq. This photo appeared on www.army.mil

[akd]

Spc. Joshua Schonacher, left, and Sgt. 1st Class Eric Olsen secure a street corner in an east Mosul, Iraq neighborhood Friday Jan. 20, 2006, while on patrol with the 3rd platoon, Charlie Co. of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry. While tensions around Mosul have fluctuated since the election, this is one group of U.S. Army soldiers who will tell you their boots are slapping the rain-soaked streets of what has become a familiar routine for many members of the 172nd Stryker Brigade deployed to this area from their home base of Fort Wainwright back in August. (AP Photo/Fairbanks, Daily News-Miner, Margaret Friedenauer)

Sgt. First class Eric Olsen; Staff Sgt. Jason Depp; and Staff Sgt. Craig Harmon, from left, with the 3rd platoon, Charlie Co. of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry patrol in an east Mosul, Iraq neighborhood Friday, Jan. 20, 2006. (AP Photo/Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Margaret Friedenauer)

Chicks with Strykers!!!

The Army showcased to the public its Stryker vehicle at the 2006 Washington, D.C. Auto Show. "The Army is a big part of our city and a big part our country, and whenever the Army participates, it's a wonderful thing," said Washington, D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams. "The Stryker generates interest," said Cpl. Nicholas Watts, Army recruiter. "We talk to people, try to get the Army name out there, because a lot of people don't know all of the things the Army has to offer.”

[akd]

by Staff Sgt. James H. Christopher III

February 1, 2006

Spc. Shawn Aiken, a medic from the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, makes friends during a dismounted patrol in Mosul, Iraq.

by Tech. Sgt. John M. Foster

February 3, 2006

Sgt. Aaron Wetherfax, from the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, patrols Mosul, Iraq.

by Tech. Sgt. John M. Foster

February 9, 2006

Spc. Jimmy Wilkes, a sniper from the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, provides security for fellow Soldiers during a patrol in Mosul, Iraq.

[ February 12, 2006, 07:53 PM: Message edited by: akd ]

[akd]

U.S. Army Stryker combat vehicles with 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 172nd Infantry Brigade, patrol Mosul, Iraq, Feb. 14, 2006. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. John M. Foster

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Dwayne Lewis with the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade, provides security during a cordon and search Feb. 10, 2006, in Mosul, Iraq. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. John M. Foster

U.S. Army members assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 172nd Infantry Brigade, perform a random stop and search for suspected insurgents in Mosul, Iraq, Feb. 11, 2006. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. John M. Foster

Pvt. 2nd Class Paul White pulls security in a local village in Support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Feb. 11, 2006, in Mosul, Iraq. U.S Army photo by Spc. Clydell Kinchen

U.S. Army members assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 172nd Infantry Brigade, perform a random stop and search for suspected insurgents in Mosul, Iraq, Feb. 11, 2006. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. John M. Foster

U.S. Army Pvt. Douglas Nagel assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 172nd Infantry Brigade, provides security from above in Mosul, Iraq, Feb. 12, 2006. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. John M. Foster

U.S. Army Stryker combat vehicles with the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 172nd Infantry Brigade, patrol Mosul, Iraq, Feb. 14, 2006. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. John M. Foster

U.S. Army Stryker combat vehicles assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 172nd Infantry Brigade, patrol Mosul, Iraq, Feb. 14, 2006. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. John M. Foster

[akd]

U.S. Army Stryker combat vehicles assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 172nd Infantry Brigade, patrol Mosul, Iraq, Feb. 14, 2006. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. John M. Foster

Lt. Col. Charles Webster, commander, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, awards a 4th Iraqi Bde Soldier a certificate of appreciation for a job weel done. (Photo by Sgt. Dennis Gravelle, 138th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, 13 Feb. 2006.)

Looks like the weather in Mosul is lovely this time of year.

A Soldier with 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team pulls air guard security enroute to Hammam Al Alil Regional Training Center. Photo by Sgt. Dennis Gravelle, 138th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.

Lt. Col. John Norris congratulates a recent graduate from a four week medic course at the Hammam Al Alil Regional Training Center. Photo by Sgt. Dennis Gravelle, 138th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.

[akd]

by Tech. Sgt. John M. Foster

February 17, 2006

Soldiers from the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team patrol Mosul, Iraq.

[akd]

Salam Daham, a restaurant owner, center, walks away as U.S. soldiers inspect the site following an explosion in Mosul, 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad, Monday, Feb. 20, 2006. A suicide bomber in a restaurant killed at least five people and wounded 21 others, including 10 policemen, said Capt. Mohammed Khalil and hospital official Dr. Ahmed Khaled. (AP Photo/Mohammed Ibrahim)

A U.S. soldier stands on guard outside the ruins of a restaurant after a bomb attack in Mosul, 390 km (242 miles) northwest of Baghdad, February 20, 2006. At least five people were killed and 21 wounded on Monday when a bomb exploded inside a restaurant in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, police and hospital sources said. The sources said one policeman and four civilians were killed in the blast near Mosul police headquarters. REUTERS/Str

[ February 20, 2006, 12:55 PM: Message edited by: akd ]

[akd]

Pfc. James Horris prepares for another patrolling mission around Mosul. Here, he gets into the drivers hatch of a Stryker brigade combat vehicle. (Photo by Sgt. Dennis Gravelle, 138th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, Feb. 17, 2006.)

Cold and wet!

Staff Sgt. Daniel Riggs, from the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, patrols Mosul, Iraq, in his Stryker vehicle on a chilly winter day. Photo by Spc. Clydell Kinchen.

[akd]

Soldiers from the Fort Wainwright, Alaska-based 4th Squadron, 14th U.S. Cavalry Regiment line C4 charges atop a pile of various munitions discovered in a hidden weapons cache in Al Quratiyah, Iraq, Feb. 20, 2006. The soldiers discovered more than 3,000 pieces of munitions, ranging from anti-tank and anti-personnel mines to mortars, during a reconnaissance patrol here. The cache is among the largest discovered to date in western Al Anbar Province. Al Quratiyah is located just outside the town of Rawah, about 350 km northwest of Baghdad.

Photo by:Courtesty of Army 1st Sgt. Roy W. Stoehr

Pfc. Adam Drobecker, from the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, provides security at the site of a suicide bombing that targeted Iraqi police in Mosul. Photo by Tech. Sgt. John Foster.

Nice shot of a squad designated marksman, 4th ID

Pfc. Manuel Marti, from Company B, 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, searches for terrorists in Hateen, Iraq. Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Katrina Beeler.

[ February 23, 2006, 07:27 PM: Message edited by: akd ]