- Comms
- Law
- Medic
- News
- Opinion
- Threat Watch
- Training
- Warrior Tools
- Accessories
- Ammo
- Body Armor
- Books
- Clothing
- Commo
- Gear
- Handguns
- Holsters
- Knives
- Long Guns
- ACC
- Accuracy International
- Barrett
- Benelli
- Beretta
- Blaser
- Bushmaster
- Custom
- CZ
- Desert Tactical Arms
- DPMS
- FN
- Forums
- HK
- IWI
- Kel-Tec Long Guns
- LaRue
- LWRC
- McMillan
- Mosin Nagant
- Mossberg
- Para
- Remington
- Rock River Arms
- Ruger Long Guns
- Sabre Defense
- Sako
- SIG Sauer
- SKS
- Smith & Wesson Long Guns
- Springfield
- Styer
- Weatherby
- Wilson Combat
- Winchester
- Magazines
- Maintenance
- Navigation
- Optics
- Sights
- Tech
- Warriors
Posts Tagged afghanistan
Soldier from 4 SCOTS killed in Afghanistan
Posted by Gary in News, Threat Watch, Warriors on 4/Jun/2011 15:17
From: MOD
It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must announce that a soldier from The Highlanders, 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (4 SCOTS), was killed in Afghanistan, yesterday, Friday 3 June 2011.
Ministry of Defence
The soldier was fatally wounded by insurgent gunfire while on a security patrol in the Lashkar Gah District of Helmand Province.
Spokesman for Task Force Helmand, Lieutenant Colonel Tim Purbrick, said:
“It is with much regret that I have to inform you of the death of a soldier from The Highlanders, 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, in the Pupalzay area of the Lashkar Gah District of Helmand Province.
“The soldier was on a partnered patrol with the Afghan National Police to reassure the local population when his unit came under attack by rifle, Rocket Propelled Grenade and indirect fire from insurgents, during which he was fatally wounded. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.”
Next of kin have been informed and have requested a period of grace before further information is released.
Counter IED Summit – Tampa Florida
Counter IED Summit – Tampa Florida, July 25-27, 2011
IDGA’s Counter IED 2011 Summit will deliver a comprehensive overview of the latest requirements, emerging policies, programs, and methods involved in defeating and mitigating the IED threat. This year’s critical summit will cover the recent changes in the directions from “Defeating the Device” to “Train the Force”
Gary Sinise – Operation International Children
From: IDGA
Gary Sinise on Winning Hearts and Minds with Operation International Children
Gary Sinise, actor, musician, and co-founder of Operation International Children, discusses the program’s creation and how it was put into action. He also details how OIC has expanded past the original mission in Iraq and into Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa, and even in response to Hurricane Katrina. He talks from firsthand experience in theater delivering supplies to children in schools and how it is building goodwill between U.S. military forces and the local populations. He also gives insight into the future of the program.
Soldier who died in afghanistan left notes behind for his daughter
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News, Warriors on 1/Jun/2011 04:20
Army 1st Lt. Todd W. Weaver Died September 9, 2010 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom 26, of Hampton, Va.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky; died Sept. 9 at COP Stout, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.
“Dear Emma: Well if you are reading this, I guess I did not make it home and therefore, I was not able to remind you again of how much I love you. I love you so much baby and I will always love you. Although I may not be here right now, take comfort in the fact that I am watching over you right now. I am not gone and I will always be with you in spirit. I know this time must be hard for you but I also know how strong you are. Never forget that God knew what was best for us before we were even born. Take comfort in that. This happened for a reason. Although you may not believe it now, you will one day.
I want you to know just how important you are to me. I could not ask for a more caring, beautiful and loving wife. The memories that we have shared over the last few years have been the best of my life. Although it may seem like my life was cut short, I lived a life that most can only dream of. I married the perfect woman. I have a beautiful daughter that amazed me every day. I even had two great dogs – at least most of the time. I couldn’t ask for anything more.
If you feel sad, just think back to the memories that we shared. Look at our daughter and how beautiful she is. Be strong for her. Remind her about her Daddy and tell her that I loved her more than anything else in the world. Her birth was the best day of my life and she was the best thing that ever happened to me. Her smile and laughter represent all that is good and beautiful in this world. Tell her that Daddy is in heaven now and will watch over her and protect her every minute of every day.
I love you Emma. But never be afraid to do what you need to do to be happy. It is so important that you continue to find happiness in your life. Although you may think this is impossible right now, have faith. Much better times are coming. You and Kiley have a wonderful life ahead of you and I am so happy to have shared some of it with you. I love you.
Your loving Husband, Todd”
Todd’s wife’s blog:
http://emmaweaverbabyonboard.blogspot.com/2011/03/struggle-and-peace.html
U.S. Tells Its Afghan Workers: No Torture, Corpse Mutilation
Posted by Jack Sinclair in Law, News, Threat Watch on 27/May/2011 19:46
“It’s never a good sign when you have to tell the men guarding your base not to murder civilians, torture detainees or desecrate corpses. But U.S. special-operations forces in Afghanistan are leaving nothing to chance.
… there are uniform expectations for would-be guards. Some of them read more like baseline conditions for membership in civilized humanity.
So-called “Afghan Security Guards†are instructed, “Do not kill or torture detained personnel.†For good measure, if someone’s taken captive, “immediately turn over to U.S., Coalition or [Afghan forces].†Should they kill someone who poses a threat, there is to be “no booby-trapping, burning [or] mutilation†of their corpses.
Afghans guarding U.S. bases don’t exactly have the best track record.”
The Bin Laden Operation: Tapping Human Intelligence
Posted by Brian in Opinion, Threat Watch on 26/May/2011 17:29
The Bin Laden Operation: Tapping Human Intelligence is republished with permission of STRATFOR.
By Fred Burton
Since May 2, when U.S. special operations forces crossed the Afghan-Pakistani border and killed Osama bin Laden, international media have covered the raid from virtually every angle. The United States and Pakistan have also squared off over the U.S. violation of Pakistan’s sovereign territory and 
Pakistan’s possible complicity in hiding the al Qaeda leader. All this surface-level discussion, however, largely ignores almost 10 years of intelligence development in the hunt for bin Laden.
While the cross-border nighttime raid deep into Pakistan was a daring and daunting operation, the work to find the target — one person out of 180 million in a country full of insurgent groups and a population hostile to American activities on its soil — was a far greater challenge. For the other side, the challenge of hiding the world’s most wanted man from the world’s most funded intelligence apparatus created a clandestine shell game that probably involved current or former Pakistani intelligence officers as well as competing intelligence services. The details of this struggle will likely remain classified for decades.
Examining the hunt for bin Laden is also difficult, mainly because of the sensitivity of the mission and the possibility that some of the public information now available could be disinformation intended to disguise intelligence sources and methods. Successful operations can often compromise human sources and new intelligence technologies that have taken years to develop. Because of this, it is not uncommon for intelligence services to try to create a wilderness of mirrors to protect sources and methods. But using open-source reporting and human intelligence from STRATFOR’s own sources, we can assemble enough information to draw some conclusions about this complex intelligence effort and raise some key questions. Read the rest of this entry »
Obama and the Arab Spring
Posted by Brian in News, Threat Watch on 25/May/2011 14:23
Obama and the Arab Spring is republished with permission of STRATFOR.
By George Friedman
U.S. President Barack Obama gave a speech last week on the Middle East. Presidents make many speeches. Some are meant to be taken casually, others are made to address an immediate crisis, and still others are intended to be a statement of broad American policy. As in any country, U.S. presidents follow rituals indicating which category their speeches fall into. Obama clearly intended his recent Middle East speech to fall into the last category, as reflecting a shift in strategy if not the declaration of a new doctrine.
While events in the region drove Obama’s speech, politics also played a strong part, as with any presidential speech. Devising and implementing policy are the president’s job. To do so, presidents must be able to lead — and leading requires having public support. After the 2010 election, I said that presidents who lose control of one house of Congress in midterm elections turn to foreign policy because it is a place in which they retain the power to act. The U.S. presidential campaign season has begun, and the United States is engaged in wars that are not going well. Within this framework, Obama thus sought to make both a strategic and a political speech. Read the rest of this entry »
Spc. Robert Mangini & PV2 Ryan Beach: 120mm mortar in Logar province
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News, Warriors on 11/May/2011 01:06
.jpg)
Spc. Robert Mangini, mortarmen from Cinnaminson, N.J., native, and PV2 Ryan Beach, an Atlantic, Iowa, native, fire a 120mm mortar round in Logar province, Aug. 29. The mortar round is fired in under two minutes from the time the mortarmen receive a call for fire.
U.S.-Pakistani Relations Beyond Bin Laden
Posted by Brian in News, Threat Watch on 10/May/2011 14:15
U.S.-Pakistani Relations Beyond Bin Laden is republished with permission of STRATFOR.
By George Friedman
The past week has been filled with announcements and speculations on how Osama bin Laden was killed and on Washington’s source of intelligence. After any operation of this sort, the world is filled with speculation on sources and methods by people who don’t know, and silence or dissembling by those who do.
Obfuscating on how intelligence was developed and on the specifics of how an operation was carried out is an essential part of covert operations. The precise process must be distorted to confuse opponents regarding how things actually played out; otherwise, the enemy learns lessons and adjusts. Ideally, the enemy learns the wrong lessons, and its adjustments wind up further weakening it. Operational disinformation is the final, critical phase of covert operations. So as interesting as it is to speculate on just how the United States located bin Laden and on exactly how the attack took place, it is ultimately not a fruitful discussion. Moreover, it does not focus on the truly important question, namely, the future of U.S.-Pakistani relations.
Posturing Versus a Genuine Breach
It is not inconceivable that Pakistan aided the United States in identifying and capturing Osama bin Laden, but it is unlikely. This is because the operation saw the already-tremendous tensions between the two countries worsen rather than improve. The Obama administration let it be known that it saw Pakistan as either incompetent or duplicitous and that it deliberately withheld plans for the operation from the Pakistanis. For their part, the Pakistanis made it clear that further operations of this sort on Pakistani territory could see an irreconcilable breach between the two countries. The attitudes of the governments profoundly affected the views of politicians and the public, attitudes that will be difficult to erase. Read the rest of this entry »
Lt. Col. (Ret.) Allen West: Define the Enemy
Posted by Brian in Opinion, Threat Watch, Warriors on 8/May/2011 22:31
I am not sure when this speech was given but it was uploaded in Sept. 2009. Allen West is the only person I have seen who speaks plainly about the enemy we face. I value his opinion over any politician’s since he has been to both Iraq and Afghanistan and fought the enemy.
Allen West: Define the Enemy: What it takes to win in Afghanistan
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News, Threat Watch, Warriors on 6/May/2011 00:07
“Is your operation enemy oriented or is your operation terrain oriented?”
“The first thing we fail to understand is that Afghanistan is not a war in and of itself. Neither was Iraq a war in and of itself.
We have a war against an Islamic, totalitarian enemy which is political, which is informational it is military and it is also economic.”
-Lt. Col. Allen West
Lt. Col. Allen West (US Army, Ret.) speaks to the Center for Security Policy’s National Security Group on Capital Hill. Col. West was a senior advisor, Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan, U.S. Central Command.
Gurkha gets UK´s 2nd Highest Medal for Bravery
From: The Himalayan Times
Sergeant Dip Prasad Pun - Pun fired 400 rounds, launched 17 grenades and detonated a mine to thwart the assault by Taliban fighters
KATHMANDU: A British Gurkha soldier who single-handedly fought off an attack by at least a dozen Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan has been awarded the United Kingdom’s second highest medal for bravery, British media reported.
Acting Sergeant Dip Prasad Pun, 31, who hails from western Nepal and serves in the British Army, exhausted all of his ammunition and resorted to using the tripod of his machine gun to repel the militants who were in 15 to 30 in number.
According to the BBC, he said he was very proud to be given the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross.
“I think I am a very lucky guy, a survivor,” he added. “Now I am getting this award, it is very great and I am very happy.”
From: Google
He said he thought the assault would never end and “nearly collapsed” when it was over, admitting: “I was really scared. But as soon as I opened fire that was gone — before they kill me, I have to kill some.”
The Battle No One Reported
Posted by Brian in News, Threat Watch, Warriors on 5/Apr/2011 12:57
Wired’s Danger Room has and excellent article on a battle that took place in Margah Afghanistan. It astounds me that some of the best war reporting going on right now is from a technology website:
It was the one of the biggest localized fights of the 10-year-old Afghanistan war — and one of the most lopsided battlefield victories for American forces. But the nearly 12-hour Battle of Margah barely registered in the news cycle back in America.
When the sun rose and the dust settled, 92 insurgents lay dead around the outpost, according to Army figures. Five Americans were wounded, but none was killed.
Many media outlets have seem to have forgotten that there is still fighting going on in Afghanistan. The media has taken the president’s announcement that troops will begin to withdraw in the summer, as a pretext to stop reporting on what is happening there and to make the president look good by not reporting stories like this one, where a massive battle took place.
Michael Yon Says Rolling Stone Article Is Bullshit
Rolling Stone reported recently on a “kill team” in Afghanistan.
Michael Yon says that the article is misleading to say the least:
The online edition of the Rolling Stone story contains a section with a video called “Motorcycle Kill,†which includes our Soldiers gunning down Taliban who were speeding on a motorcycle toward our guys. These Soldiers were also with 5/2 SBCT, far away from the “Kill Team†later accused of the murders. Rolling Stone commits a literary “crime†by deceptively entwining this normal combat video with the Kill Team story. The Taliban on the motorcycle were killed during an intense operation in the Arghandab near Kandahar City.
Combat surgeon leaves big business for Army, front lines of Afghanistan
From: Army.mil By Sgt. Breanne Pye, 1st Brigade Combat Team, Public Affairs Office 4th Infantry Division
Photo Credit: Sgt. Breanne Pye, Public Affairs Office, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Inf. Div..
PART ONE: EMBRACE THE PAST
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Flip through history’s pages and you will find countless stories of men and women throughout the ages, who have taken incredible journeys and overcome impossible odds, to become our most celebrated heroes.
Though the heroes from our history books are an impressive lot, if you’re looking for a modern day hero, you won’t have to look any farther than 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division’s 49-year-old combat surgeon, affectionately referred to simply as ‘Doc’ throughout Task Force Raider.
A former business executive for Burton Snowboards, Capt. Douglas ‘Doc’ Powell, brigade surgeon, assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 1BCT, 4th Inf. Div., is currently overseeing a mission quite different than the design team he lead with Burton, as he serves on the front lines of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Read the rest of this entry »