army national guard: Temmuz 2012

By Marine Corps Cpl. Ed GaloRegimental Combat Team 6
FORWARD OPERATING BASE NOLAY,Afghanistan, July 5, 2012 – As they waited in line for breakfast at the fieldmess hall here one recent morning, Marines heard blues music coming from aharmonica.
“They’re out of eggs right now, so I’mgoing to wait out here for them to finish the next batch,” said Marine CorpsCpl. Nathan Karasch, taking a break from his music.
Karasch, with Charlie Company, 1stBattalion, 7th Marines, Regimental Combat Team 6, has had a longtime passionfor music.
“I played the trumpet in school from thefourth grade,” the Minnesota native said, “and then in high school I picked uppiano, drums and guitar.”
He studied music in college, majored inpercussion and received an associate’s degree.
Karasch said he taught himself how toplay the harmonica on this deployment as a way to pass time, since he doesn’thave his other instruments with him.
“I got it in one of the care packagesfrom my family,” he said. “I picked it up pretty quickly just because I have abackground in music. I wanted to learn how to bend notes just to get thatbluesy sound.” He spent his evenings in the base’s Morale, Welfare andRecreation tent, searching the Internet for harmonica lessons.
Other Marines sometimes ask Karasch toplay songs, and occasionally, he’ll play “The Marines’ Hymn” to lighten themood. But he said he usually just keeps his music to himself.
Though he enjoys playing blues musicwith his harmonica, Karasch said, he doesn’t really listen to blues. He grew uplistening to classic rock.
“I’ve gotten into jazz and metal andevery other type of music under the sun, especially since music school,” hesaid. “But the harmonica sort of has a blues history to it, so it’s really funto try and get a blues song out of it.”
Music even led Karasch to his wife,Ashlee, whom he met at a bandmate’s wedding in January 2009. The keyboardistbrought her as a date and introduced her to Karasch.
“He sort of tried to play matchmaker forus throughout the wedding,” Karasch said. “I left for boot camp Feb. 17, and wegot married Dec. 30 of the same year.”
Karasch, an infantryman by trade, nowworks in the company’s intelligence section. It’s a job he said he has come toenjoy.
“I despised it at first, just because Isigned up to be a grunt. But I’ve grown to like it,” he said. “Now, I don’tknow which I prefer. I like them both.”
Karasch joined the Marine Corps threeyears ago.
“As clichÃ© as it sounds, I joinedbecause I wanted to serve my country,” he said. “I just wanted to do my part,even if it’s just one contract. I actually thought I’d be a good fit for themilitary and possibly make a good career out of it.”

Reopened Supply Routes Mean Cost Savings, Spokesman Says

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By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C.Marshall Jr.American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, July 5, 2012 – Pakistan’sdecision to reopen ground supply routes on its border with Afghanistan willallow the Defense Department to save tens of millions of dollars transportingmaterial in and out of Afghanistan, a senior Pentagon spokesman said heretoday.
Navy Capt. John Kirby said officialsestimate that use of the reopened routes will save $70 million to $100 millionper month.
Kirby noted that Defense Secretary LeonE. Panetta had told Congress that since Pakistan had closed the routes inNovember, resupplying forces in Afghanistan had been costing the United Statesabout $100 million more per month than before the closure.
“Secretary Panetta fully supports theapproach that was taken, and the discussions that were had,” Kirby said. “Hewelcomes the decision by Pakistan to open the gates.”
Pakistan closed the supply routes aftera Nov. 26, 2011, incident in which American troops came under fire fromPakistan. U.S. forces returned fire and killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. Pakistanresponded by closing the main overland supply routes for U.S. and NATO forcesinto Afghanistan.
U.S. logistics specialists quicklyshifted to other means, such as the Northern Distribution Network, to supplythe forces. However, DOD officials have noted the routes through Pakistan areconsidered the most direct and most cost-effective.
“The Defense Department, immediatelyafter the incident in November, expressed our regrets and condolences over it[and] acknowledged the mistakes we’ve made, and we’re sorry for thosemistakes,” Kirby told reporters today.
He added that although the Pakistaniground supply routes are cheaper, coalition forces will continue to use theNorthern Distribution Network as well.
“The Northern Distribution Network isstill a viable, vital method through which logistics flow in and out ofAfghanistan,” Kirby said. “One of the things that we’re looking at, more [now]than we were in November when the [Pakistani ground supply routes] closed, wasretrograde -- the need to get material out of Afghanistan. So the NorthernDistribution Network will still remain vital as we move forward.”
Kirby said traffic has started to flowthrough the Pakistan ground gates, and that the same agreement in place beforethe closure still applies.
“The same arrangement we had using theground gates before they closed are in existence now,” he said. “There’s beenno change to those agreements.” No lethal material is permitted to flow throughthe ground lines of communication, he added, unless it is designed and designatedsolely for the Afghan national security forces.
Kirby said the United States andPakistan continue to work to “get this relationship on better footing.”
“My sense is this was just a series of alot of discussions and negotiations, and [a] concerted effort by both sides tomove past this and to get the relationship into a better place [as we] start tolook at the common challenges in the region,” he said.
Kirby re-emphasized the practicalbenefits and cost-effectiveness of moving logistics through Pakistan’s groundsupply routes.
“We’ve always said moving things throughthe ground gates is cheaper and more expedient,” he said. “Because we have thatopen to us now, it will save money.”

Combined Force Detains Several Suspected Insurgents

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Compiledfrom International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases
WASHINGTON, July 6, 2012 – An Afghan andcoalition security force detained several suspected insurgents during a searchfor a Taliban improvised explosive device expert in the Ghorak district ofAfghanistan’s Kandahar province today, military officials reported.
The expert constructs IEDs and suppliesthem to Taliban leaders throughout the region for use in attacks against Afghanand coalition forces, officials said.
In other Afghanistan operations today:
-- Officials confirmed that the Lashkar-e-Taibainsurgent leader Ammar was killed June 29 during an airstrike in the Watahpurdistrict of Kunar province. Ammar had managed a network of insurgents anddirected attacks against Afghan and coalition forces throughout the province.The airstrike also killed the LeT leader, Khatab Shafiq, and several otherinsurgents. A follow-on assessment confirmed the airstrike had not injured anycivilians and had not damaged any civilian property.
-- In the Terayzai district of Khostprovince, a combined force detained several suspected insurgents and seized onefirearm and multiple grenades during a search for a Haqqani leader. The Haqqanileader plans and coordinates attacks against the Afghan government throughoutthe province.
-- A combined force detained twosuspected insurgents during a search for a Taliban bomb maker in the Khugyanidistrict of Nangarhar province. The Taliban bomb maker plans and coordinatesattacks against Afghan and coalition forces throughout the region.
-- A combined force found and clearedfour IEDs in Ghazni province. Two IEDs were found in the province’s Ghaznidistrict, one in the Khwaia Omari district and one in the Gelan district.
-- A combined force detained oneinsurgent in Ghazni province’s Andar district.
-- A combined force discovered a weaponscache in Ghazni province’s Ab Band district. The cache contained items used tocreate IEDs.
-- A combined force killed one insurgentin Kunar province’s Darah Ye Pech district.
-- A combined force found and cleared anIED in Logar province’s Pul-E Alam district.
-- A combined force found and clearedfour IEDs in Nangarhar province. Two IEDs were found in the province’s La’L Purdistrict, one in the Chapahar district and one in the Achin district.
-- A combined force killed one insurgentin Paktika province’s Orgun district.
-- A combined force discovered a weaponscache containing grenades and mortar rounds used to make IEDs in Wardakprovince’s Maidan Shahr district.
-- A combined force killed twoinsurgents in Wardak province’s Sayyidabad district. The insurgents were foundwith IED-making materials, small arms and ammunition.

DOD Officials Call Syrian General’s Defection, ‘Significant’

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By Jim GaramoneAmerican Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, July 6, 2012 – Pentagon officialscalled the defection of Syrian Army Brig. Gen. Manaf Tlass “significant,”saying this could be the first crack in the inner circle around Syrian dictatorBashar Assad.
Tlass sought asylum in Turkey, saidPentagon spokesman Navy Capt. John Kirby.
“He is a former friend of Assad, so wedon’t believe this defection should be taken lightly,” Kirby said. “It’sanother example of a senior member in the Syrian army that has decided to turnagainst the Syrian regime and to stop committing violent acts against itspeople.”
Tlass is the son of former Syriandefense minister Mustafa Tlass, according to U.S. officials. The elder Tlassserved in the position from 1972 to 2004 and helped the Assad family set up therepressive regime in Syria.
This defection is considered differentfrom those that have occurred previously, U.S. officials said, noting Tlass isa general officer who had a long, personal, close association with the Assadfamily.
U.S. officials hope this latestdefection will lead to more from the regime’s inner circle. “I’d behard-pressed to say that the regime is about to crack under the weight ofdefections,” Kirby said.
The Syrian regime is murdering its ownpeople and Bashar Assad has not indicated any desire to relinquish power,officials said.
“He has loyalists still around him andcertainly the vast majority of the Syrian military is still following hisorders,” Kirby said. “The international community remains firm about the needfor him to step down and stop killing his people.”
The United States, officials said, isconcerned about reports that al-Qaida is taking advantage of the chaos in Syriato launch attacks and establish a presence in the country. Iraqi officials,they said, claim al-Qaida terrorists are moving from Iraq to Syria to launchattacks.
Kirby said Defense Secretary Leon E.Panetta is concerned about such reports.
“The secretary has been on the recordexpressing concern about the potential for al-Qaida migrating in to Syria, andwe have seen indications that they have wanted to do that,” Kirby said. “Thisobviously won’t do anything to stabilize the situation in Syria.”

Pictures from the Front Lines

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Vigilant VillagerAn Afghan villager holds his child whilewatching a partnered patrol of U.S. paratroopers and Afghan soldiers passthrough his village near Muqor in Afghanistan's Ghazni province, June 25, 2012.The soldiers are assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division's 1st Battalion, 504thParachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team.

Air SupportU.S. Army 2nd Lt. Nicholas Prieto,center, talks with U.S. Army Spc. Jonathan Myers, right, and U.S. Army Pfc.Blaze Glocar, left, as they call in air support during a firefight withinsurgents in Afghanistan's Ghazni province, June 30, 2012. Prieto, a platoonleader, Myers, a forward observer, and Glocar, a radioman, are assigned to the82nd Airborne Division's 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1stBrigade Combat Team.

Firefight ShieldA U.S. Army paratrooper takes coverbehind a mine resistant ambush protected vehicle while firing his M4 carbine atinsurgents during a firefight near Muqor in Afghanistan's Ghazni province, June30, 2012.