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FOB Blackhawk - There is deliberateness akin to how a surgeon works that goes into the planning of an artillery strike in the fire direction center, or FDC. Except instead of using a scalpel to work, the center uses 155mm howitzers. Attached to the 5th Stryker Brigade's 8th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment,
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Capt. Carl Subler is a dusty boots chaplain. "I am a priest who happens to be in the Army," he said as we sat and talked outside his tent. "I am here to serve soldiers, any soldier." The only Roman Catholic chaplain assigned to 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Subler has the wonderful
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Spc. Anthony Gonzales is a physically strong soldier who provides indirect fire support to soldiers serving outside of Baghdad. His military occupational specialty is 11C, or indirect fire infantryman. In other words, he fires mortars. Gonzales joined the Army almost three years ago because he wanted a change in life and a
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Spc. John Crosby is an Army photojournalist because he wanted to go to war. "I've always wanted to be a GI Joe," said Crosby as he worked on some recent images in 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT), 2nd Infantry Division's tactical operations center. "And I thought this was a great
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Pfc. Brandon Jones confronts the challenges that bedevil some soldiers. He is a mental health specialist in the behavioral clinic at Madigan Army Medical Center. His military occupational specialty, or MOS, is 68X. "I give mental status exams for soldiers wanting to be snipers, drill sergeants and recruiters," said Jones. "This is
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Reserve components - both Guard and reserve members in all five branches of service - comprise about 46 percent of the nation's military manpower. That's a lot of power for civilian employers to lose as reservists are called up to serve during the global war on terror. And that can lead
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Sgt. Brandon Henning wasn't sure why the oil was backing up into the fuel line of a Stryker's engine, but he was bound and determined to find out. "We're not sure if it's the heat or what," he said as he worked on the engine in the motor pool at Forward
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Forward Operating Base Lagman, Afghanistan - Everything the two mechanics do at Lagman is a work in progress. A very small place about four hours east northeast of Kandahar Air Field (KAF), Lagman is a vital cog in making sure 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division's vehicles are combat ready. "We fix just
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In talking with Afghanis, one learns quickly that indirect and nuanced conversation is the manner in which business is done. "Being direct does not get us anywhere," Lt. Col. William Clark told me as we headed to a meeting. And speaking of meetings, the Afghanis are not known for being on
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Gun 1, Bravo Battery, 3rd Battalion, 17th Field Artillery, fires on a target in the Tora Ghar Mountains.
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I departed FOB Blackhawk in what is my first step to returning home. The convoy back to Kandahar Air Field (KAF) was stopped for a while when a civilian Afghan vehicle detonated an IED buried on the side of the road. The signature weapon of this conflict did its job -
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The day started at 0400 when I linked up with 3rd Platoon, Bear Troop, 8th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment for an all day mission. "Early enough for you," said SFC Brian Schrank, the noncommissioned officer who would lead the mission. I replied that I was no stranger to the early rise; I
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The subject of counter insurgency is getting to be quite the de rigueur topic. Part of the discussions in Washington and elsewhere center on whether the United States should be fighting the Taliban, a constellation of indigenous Pushtun groups, or just al-Qaeda, a transnational terrorist groups whose leaders live and operate
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Sgt. Gregory Ruske speaks softly, preferring to let his actions speak for him. While assigned to Combined Joint Task Force 101 operating in Afghanistan in April 2008, Ruske's actions in a remote area against Taliban forces earned him a Silver Star. During an intense firefight in which he was wounded, Ruske laid
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Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan - The 402nd Brigade Support Battalion is in the middle of change. "You've come at the right time," Lt. Col. Steve Allen, the battalion's commander, recently said to me. "There are a lot of things moving right now." The 402nd is part of 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.
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Looking for something different to do, I volunteered to go out with 1st Platoon Bear Troop on an overnight mission. Our mission agenda was pretty straightforward. We would stop by an Afghan Police Highway Checkpoint, conduct surveillance from an observation post, and conduct a short traffic control point, or TCP, inspection. "We'll
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Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan - The smell overwhelms you when you walk into the 402nd Brigade Support Battalion's tactical operations center, or TOC. Just ask Command Sergeant Major Frank Grippe. He knows. During a recent visit to meet with the soldiers serving in with 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Grippe got a
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There is a wonderful little irony that gets played out whenever soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 17th Field Artillery go into action. For long periods of time, out here on a distant corner of FOB Blackhawk, they wait quietly for a mission. As I worked with SSgt. Peter Bazo, Spc. John Walsh, Pfc.
