R.I.P. - Sgt. Eric E. Williams

DOD Identifies Army Casualty

            The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

            Sgt. Eric E. Williams, 27, of Murrieta, Calif., died July 23, in Pul-E Alam, Afghanistan.

            Williams was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

            For more information pertaining to this release, media may contact the 82nd Airborne Division public affairs office at 910-432-0661 or 910-813-3891.

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from fortbragg.patch.com:

By Kelly Twedell

A Third Fort Bragg Soldier Killed in Afghanistan This Week
The Murrieta, Calif. soldier was also a writer with his own blog, view an excerpt of a recent post before his death.
   
The Department of Defense announced late Tuesday the death of another Fort Bragg based soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Sgt. Eric E. Williams, 27, of Murrieta, Calif., died July 23, in Pul-E Alam, Afghanistan. There was no immediate word on how he died.

Williams was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

According to a Valley news report, Sgt. Williams maintained a blog on blogspot.com. Here is an excerpt from his latest blog on July 17, 2012. lt's entitled "Coming Home".

"This deployment is coming to an end, in a few days we will be on a plane back to the United States to rejoin our family and friends and to try to readjust to a certain semblance of what we think life should be. The truth is everything has changed, we collectively have changed. We have changed as people, as an army, as citizens of the United States. We face uncertainty in nearly every aspect of our lives. Our families have been without us for a year and we have only two weeks to try to enjoy the extremely limited time we have with them before its back to the daily grind. Two weeks to try to reconnect, although this process can take weeks, months or even years. There is no promise that any of us will return unchanged. But we collectively have been granted access to something few ever see, or choose to see for that matter."

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Three Talib insurgent commanders killed with their 17 accomplices in a joint operation in Maidan Wardak Province

Districts of Wardak. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Publish Date: Jul 25, 2012

Three Talib insurgent commanders killed with their 17 accomplices in a joint operation in Maidan Wardak Province


Afghan National Police, Afghan National Army, NDS and Coalition Forces launched a clearance operation in the Asmail Khil village, Jalriz District of Maidan Wardak province, yesterday.
  
As a result of this operation, three senior Talib insurgent commanders were killed with their 17 accomplices and two others were wounded.

The mentioned group kidnapped director of Olympic for Jaghori District, ANA detective commander battalion for Badakhshan province and 3rd district company commander for Kabul City and they planned to kill the mentioned people.

Also, the mentioned group was involved in killing and beheading of six innocent young men on 22/ July/2012.

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13 armed insurgents killed, 2 wounded and 33 arrested by ANP (Jul.25.2012.)

Publish Date: Jul 25, 2012

13 armed insurgents killed, two wounded and 33 arrested by Afghan National Police

Counterterrorism:

During the past 24 hours, Afghan National Police, Afghan National Army, NDS and Coalition Forces launched six joint clearance operations in Nooristan, Zabul, Maidan Wardak, Logar, Ghazni and Herat provinces.
  
As a result of these operations, 13 armed insurgents were killed, two wounded and 33 others were arrested by Afghan National Police.

Also, during these operations, Afghan National Police discovered and confiscated one pistol, 16 different types of weapons, 102 heavy rounds, 50 light rounds, eight different types of mines, one hand grenade, 30 drums full of explosives materials, five magazines, one vehicle and three motorcycles.

During the same 24 hour period, Afghan National Police discovered and defused one BM-1 round and two anti-vehicle mines as a result of security operations in Kunduz, Maidan Wardak and Logar provinces.

Crimes:
The 101 Kabul Zone National Police detained nine individuals accused of murder, assault, theft and carrying illegal weapon in the 3rd, 15th and 17th Districts of Kabul-City.

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July 25., 2012. - ISAF Joint Command Operational Update

KABUL, Afghanistan – Afghan and coalition forces conducted a security operation in Waygal district, Nuristan province, yesterday.

During the operation the security force identified the al-Qaida-associated insurgent Khanjar, also known as Turab. The security force engaged Khanjar and killed him.

Khanjar was an insurgent leader with ties to both the al-Qaida terrorist organization and the Taliban insurgency. He provided safe-haven to al-Qaida members operating throughout Nuristan and coordinated Taliban activities in the region. He also oversaw the training of Taliban insurgents in the province.

After the engagement, the security force conducted a follow-on assessment of the area and confirmed no civilians had been harmed and no civilian property had been damaged.

In other International Security Assistance Force news throughout Afghanistan:

South

An Afghan and coalition security force conducted an operation to arrest a Taliban leader in Nawah-ye Barakzai district, Helmand province, today. The Taliban leader is a specialist in the use of improvised explosive devices and directs IED attacks against Afghan and coalition forces throughout northern Helmand. As a result of the operation, the security force detained multiple suspected insurgents and seized more than 18 kilograms (40 pounds) of explosive material and IED components.

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July 24., 2012. - RC-East operational update

BAGRAM, Afghanistan – Afghan and coalition forces killed one insurgent, detained nine and cleared six improvised explosive devices during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, July 24.

Ghazni province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared two IEDs, one in Dehyak district and one in Qarah Bagh district.

Kapisa province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared an IED in Tagab district.

Khowst province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces detained two insurgents who were gathering information on coalition forces in Khowst district. The detained suspects were transferred to a base for questioning.

Kunar province
A coalition airstrike killed an insurgent in Bar Kunar district in response to Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces receiving small arms and indirect fire.

Logar province
Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces found and safely cleared an IED in Muhammad Aghah district.

Nangarhar province
Afghan Uniformed Police and coalition forces found and safely cleared an IED in Achin district.

Paktika province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared an IED in Yosuf Khel district.

Paktiya province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces detained seven individuals suspected of insurgent activity in Zurmat district. The detained suspects were transferred to a base for questioning.

Operations in RC-East are still ongoing.

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Afghan police commander missing after mass defection attempt

Map of Farah Province (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Commander tried to trick and then coerce his unit of 20 men into joining Taliban before disappearing with nephew, officials say

by Emma Graham-Harrison in Kabul
from guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 24 July 2012 17.50 BST   

An Afghan police commander has gone missing and apparently tried to join the Taliban, after attempting to trick and then coerce his unit of 20 men into switching sides with him, a regional police chief said.

News of the attempted defection trickled out in a day of confusing and often contradictory reports that underlined the challenges of understanding the security shifts in the country.

The missing police commander, Mirwais, was responsible for guarding a stretch of road in a restive corner of the remote western Farah province, near the Iranian border.

The attempt to switch sides with an entire unit turned on its head a government and Nato-backed reintegration programme for lower-level insurgents, offering incentives for fighters to lay down arms. Nato says several thousand have signed up.

The first reports from the provincial governor's office said Mirwais had poisoned half his men – presumably those reluctant to sign up to life as an insurgent – and disappeared with weapons, vehicles and his remaining officers.

The governor, Mohammad Akram Akhpalwak, told the Guardian: "There were 20 people under this commander. He poisoned 11 and took nine with him."

He said none of those left behind were seriously harmed by the poisoning. "We are still investigating where they have gone. He is a senior commander, who has worked in this area on the checkpoints for a long time. Nothing like this has ever happened in Farah before."

A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, claimed the commander had joined the insurgency with an impressive collection of men and equipment. "One commander, his name is Mirwais, joined the Taliban with 40 fighters, weapons and one military tank and two vehicles," he said.

But beyond inflating the number of policemen, he offered no details that had not already appeared in reports about the missing group. The insurgents have a track record of exaggerating reports of activities in Afghanistan or claiming responsibility for events planned or carried out by others.

The ministry of the interior, which controls the police, said eight policemen were missing, but denied they had joined the Taliban or that any were poisoned. "We don't know if they have been taken hostage, or gone. The police are doing their best to find them," said a spokesman, Sediq Seddiqi.

In a later update, he said six of the policemen had been found alive, but could offer few other details about where they had gone, why they had disappeared or the fate of the other two, saying only that an investigation was under way.

In the early evening the Farah provincial police chief, Agha Noor, said two men were still missing. He named them as Mirwais and his nephew Janan, and said they were trying to join a local insurgent leader, Mullah Sultan, with the whole unit.

"Nineteen soldiers were with him and he planned to join the Taliban," Noor said. Mirwais had led his men to a remote and violent part of Bala Baluk district on the pretext of carrying out a patrol, he said, and when the commander revealed his plans the men were unhappy. "When the soldiers understood they had to join the Taliban, they didn't want to but he pushed them … They said: 'Mirwais first cheated us and then tried to force us.'"

When provincial police headquarters realised 20 men were missing, they launched an operation to find them and picked up nine on Monday and eight others on Tuesday, Noor said. There was no information on whether Mirwais and Janan had managed to make contact with insurgents, he added.

Related articles

• Afghan local police officers join Taliban group in Farah (khaama.com)
• Afghan police defect to Taliban (bbc.co.uk)
• Afghan police commander missing after mass defection attempt (guardian.co.uk)

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R.I.P. - Pfc. Julian L. Colvin, Staff Sgt. Richard L. Berry

DOD Identifies Army Casualties
            The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

            They died July 22 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered from an enemy improvised explosive device.  They were assigned to the 508th Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

            Killed were:

            Pfc. Julian L. Colvin, 21, of Birmingham, Ala.,

            Staff Sgt. Richard L. Berry, 27, of Scottsdale, Ariz.

            For more information the media may contact the 82nd Airborne Division Public Affairs Office at 910-432-0661 or 910-813-3891.

---

from al.com:
By Jon Anderson -- The Birmingham News 

Pfc. Julian L. Colvin

Published: Tuesday, July 24, 2012, 4:19 PM     Updated: Wednesday, July 25, 2012, 2:04 AM
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- A 21-year-old U.S. Army soldier from Birmingham was one of two servicemen killed in Afghanistan on Sunday, the U.S. Department of Defense said Tuesday.

Army Pfc. Julian L. Colvin of Birmingham and Sgt. Richard L. Berry, 27, of Scottsdale, Ariz., died of wounds suffered from an enemy improvised explosive device while on a dismounted patrol in Kandahar, Afghanistan, the Department of Defense said.

Both were assigned to the 508th Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division from Fort Bragg, N.C., and were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Colvin joined the Army on March 9, 2011 as a combat engineer. He attended training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., followed by the U.S. Army Airborne School and joined the 82nd Airborne Division in July 2011. This was his first deployment.

"Pfc. Colvin was a young, energetic Paratrooper and engineer," said Lt. Col. Peter Levola, commander of the 508th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, in a press release. "He is a shining example of the inspiration and promise of our young, remarkable Paratroopers -- a selfless hero who willingly took on one of the most difficult jobs in the Brigade by leading patrols with a mine detector."

Colvin's awards include the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, the Army Commendation Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Ribbon, the Combat Action Badge and the Basic Parachutist Badge.

Staff Sgt. Richard L. Berry

Berry joined the Army on Feb. 23, 2006, as a combat engineer and joined the 82nd Airborne Division in May 2009. This was his third combat deployment, having previously served in Iraq from September 2006 to November 2007 and in Afghanistan from August 2009 to February 2010.

"Staff Sgt. Berry was an incredibly talented Paratrooper, engineer and husband," Levola said. Berry was injured on a mission during a previous deployment and worked his way back to health to rejoin his unit as a team leader, Levola said. "He is an unforgettable hero."

Berry's awards include the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart with one oak leaf cluster, the Army Commendation Medal with four oak leaf clusters, the Army Good Conduct Medal with two knots, the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the NATO Medal with Bronze Star, the Combat Action Badge and the Basic Parachutist Badge.

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