Explosives Still a Problem in Afghanistan
January has seen explosives still being a problem in Afghanistan. On January 23, ISAF forces operating in the Garm Ser district of Helmand province discovered a large cache of homemade explosives. The estimated 310 kg cache included 36 five liter jugs of explosives and 9 kg of fragmentation.
They destroyed the cache at the site, but there’s more out there. On the same day, in the Arghandab district of Kandahar province, forces discovered another cache of munitions. This one consisted of 38 RPG rounds, eight recoilless rifles and 2,200 rounds of 7.62 mm small arms ammunition.
These may not seem like large weapon caches, but each one we find – every weapon we take out of the enemies hands – the easier it’s going to be going about rebuilding Afghanistan so that they can stand on their own. The Taliban may be talking about public relations changes they want to make, but the casualties tell the story. It’s weapons like the ones found all over Afghanistan in caches like this that are a problem. On their own they don’t seem like much perhaps, but when you put them together, it really starts to add up.
Just a day later, on January 24, 2010, two ISAF service members from the United States were killed in an IED strike in southern Afghanistan.This is why it’s so important to continue to find these small weapons caches and take the battle to the enemy – wherever they might be. Pakistan, Iran or any other nation shouldn’t be a hiding place for these people. The enemy is out there, and slowly but surely we’re taking away their ability to do battle. It’s been a long war so far, but if we continue the way we’re going, victory is certain.
Sgt. Stryker out.
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Combined Action in the Khost-Gardez Pass
(Left to right) Afghan national army Maj. Shapoor Sharafat, engineer officer, 6-1 Kandak, U.S. Army 1st Lt. Jonathan Patten, executive officer, 1-40th Cavvalry, 4-25 Infantry Division, ANA Capt. Ghulam Rabani, intelligence officer, and a local interpreter, plan missions inside of the Combined Tactical Operations Center, Combat Outpost Wilderness, Afghanistan, Dec. 26. COP Wilderness is located in the Khost-Gardez pass, which is the most direct route through the mountains from the city of Gardez to Khost and is a key area of combined action efforts between the U.S. and Afghan Army. Staff Sgt. Stephen Otero
Bastogne Warriors Battle Through Scenarios
Sgt. 1st Class Timothy Easton of the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division briefs his platoon on the Joint Readiness Training Center mission Jan. 15 at Fort Polk, La. Bastogne Warriors received a Situation Train Exercise to hone in on their skills in preparation for their rotation to Afghanistan. Spc. Richard Daniels Jr.
Operation Enduring Freedom
U.S. Army Pvt. Pygong G. Lim with Bear Troop, 8th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment takes a position along the wall of an Afghan border police checkpoint in Spin Boldak, Afghanistan, Jan. 9. The mission of the Afghan border police is to secure the borders of Afghanistan from infiltration and illegal entry of persons and the smuggling of contraband. (Photo by: Tech Sgt. Francisco V. Govea II)
Soldiers Teach Tractor Inspection
U.S. Army Lt. Col. William T. Ewing and U.S. Army Maj. Jim E. Rush, both with the Kentucky Agri-business Development Team, Task Force Cyclone, teach a student at Al Biruni University how to plow a field using a tractor in Kapisa province, Afghanistan, Jan. 21. The Kentucky ADT mission is to promote agribusiness in Parwan, Pansjhir, Bayman and Kapisa provinces in Afghanistan through providing resources and education. Spc. Charles Thompson