An Afghan Provincial Response Company, partnered with coalition forces, detained two criminals during an operation in Baad Pukh district, Laghman province, Sunday.
One detainee was tried and convicted in an Afghan court of law for multiple crimes against Afghan people in Laghman province. The crimes included theft of grain and weapons, in addition to kidnapping and severely beating a relative.
The second detainee was apprehended for crimes against local Afghans in the province after a warrant was issued by the provincial chief prosecutor.
Checking equipment and performing inspections happen right before a unit goes on mission as leaders walk their soldiers through rehearsals and talk through their actions in case they come upon an unexpected variable in the equation of war.
For more than 15 soldiers assigned to the Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, deployed from Fort Bliss, Texas, a ceremony was held to recognize them for engaging with the enemy and coming out on top.
Afghan Local Police defended a checkpoint from an insurgent attack in Sayad district, Feb. 19.
The ALP manning the checkpoint were engaged by 20 insurgents with rocket-propelled grenades, machine gun fire, and small arms fire.
The ALP immediately returned fire, and mounted a counter attack.
The conflict lasted more than three hours, ending when insurgents withdrew into the surround mountains, resulting in no casualties or injuries suffered by the ALP.
Signs of progress for the Afghan National Security Forces was made in the icy city of Gardez this week when an improvised explosive device was discovered by Afghan Uniformed Police and destroyed by an Afghan National Army explosive ordnance disposal unit on a muddy street near the wood market.
Improvised explosive devices being found and disposed of by EOD units is not a rare occurrence in this volatile region of the country. What was special about this particular operation was that no coalition forces played a hand in it.
The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a compact, multi-role fighter aircraft. Highly maneuverable, F-16s have proven to be very effective in both air-to-air and air-to-surface combat. To keep these critical air-power assets mission ready, the technicians of the 455th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron provide 24-hour service to the F-16s here.
A rifle may be a Marine’s best friend in combat, but a close second goes to the military working dogs that go out with the Marines of 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines every day.
“The Marines are very pleased with my dog, TTroy,” said Cpl. Derrick Magee, 21, dog handler, from Vineland, N.J. “He helps keep us alive and I keep him happy, emotions travel down the leash, the dog can tell how you feel and will feel and act in the same way, so you have to be positive.”
Two explosive ordnance disposal technicians received a prestigious award for their actions in Afghanistan in support of International Security Assistance Force operations from April to September 2011.
Staff Sgt. David J. Dignan and Staff Sgt. James D. Whidden, both with EOD Company, 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, were awarded the Bronze Star with a Combat Distinguishing Device during a ceremony aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C., Feb. 10.
A Marine Staff Sgt. received a Purple Heart during a ceremony held at Bangor Cinema Plus theater on Naval Base Kitsap (NBK) Bangor, Feb. 16.
Marine Staff Sgt. Chris Rangel, S3 operations assistant chief, Marine Corps Security Force Battalion Bangor, received a Purple Heart after suffering a traumatic brain injury (TBI) caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) during an airborne operation while deployed to Afghanistan in 2009.
"I was the eleventh vehicle in a patrol whose sole purpose was to find IEDs," said Rangel. "But with my luck, I found it with my truck. "
An Afghan and coalition security force conducted an operation in search of a Taliban leader in Shirin Tagab district, Faryab province, today.
The insurgent leader is the deputy military coordinator for Faryab province. He provides explosives to insurgent leaders and plans attacks.
The security force engaged numerous insurgents who exited their compound armed with heavy machine guns, AK-47 assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades. Responding to the direct threat the security force killed the armed insurgents, during the operation.
