Saturday, May 4, 2013

May 04., 2013. - RC-East operational update

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - Afghan National Security and coalition forces killed five insurgents, detained one suspected insurgent and found and safely cleared 13 improvised explosive devices during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, May 3.

Ghazni province
Afghan National Security and coalition forces found and safely cleared
13 IEDs during operations in the Gelan district.

Afghan National Security Forces killed two insurgents during operations in the Giro district.

Kunar province
Afghan National Security Forces killed two insurgents and detained one suspected insurgent during operations in the Manogai district. The suspect was transferred to a base for questioning.

Paktika province
Afghan National Security Forces killed one insurgent during operations in the Sharan district.

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At least 18 killed, 36 wounded in attacks in Iraq

BAGHDAD, May 3 (Xinhua) -- At least 18 people were killed and 36 others injured in attacks on Friday in Iraq, including a car bombing near a mosque in the capital of Baghdad, Interior Ministry and police sources said.
The car bomb exploded near the Sunni mosque in northern Baghdad as worshipers were leaving Friday Prayers. At least five of them were killed and 30 others wounded, an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The blast also damaged several cars nearby, he added.

Meanwhile, a total of nine policemen were killed and six others wounded in clashes between armed men and police in Mosul, some 400 km northwest of Baghdad, a local police source told Xinhua.

The armed men had attacked several police checkpoints around the city, he said.

Moreover, four gunmen were killed when they attacked a checkpoint belonging to the Iraqi army in western Mosul, the source added.

Violence is still common in Iraq despite the dramatic decrease since its peak in 2006 and 2007 when the country was engulfed in sectarian killings.

The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq said Thursday that the death toll among Iraqis from violence in April has hit its highest level since 2008, with 712 people killed in violence across the country.

from XINHUA
2013-05-03 20:09:05

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R.I.P. - Staff Sgt. Michael H. Simpson

DOD Identifies Army Casualty

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

            Staff Sgt. Michael H. Simpson, 30, of San Antonio, Texas, died May 1 in Landstuhl, Germany, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit on April 27, with an improvised explosive device in Arian, Afghanistan.  He was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

            For more information the media may contact the U.S. Army Special Forces Command (Airborne) public affairs office at 910-689-6187.

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Staff Sgt. Michael H. Simpson, 30, of San Antonio, Texas, died May 1 in Landstuhl, Germany, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit on April 27, with an improvised explosive device in Arian, Afghanistan.
He was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. In the service for 10 years, SSG Simpson had been stationed in Afghanistan only about two weeks when he was wounded by a bomb while riding an ATV.
Simpson enlisted in the Army in April, 2003, as an Infantryman. Upon completion of basic training and Advanced Individual Training, Simpson was assigned to Company D, 3rd Infantry Regiment, the Old Guard, as a Rifleman. In 2006, Simpson was assigned to Company C, 2nd Cavalry Regiment and deployed in 2007 as a fire team leader in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Simpson volunteered for the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course and completed the Special Forces Qualification Course in July 2011.
He was assigned to Company C, 4th BN, 1st SFG (A) as a weapons sergeant. He participated in the multilateral exercise Cobra Gold in Thailand in 2012 and recently deployed in support of OEF-A. His military education includes the Special Forces Qualification Course, Warrior Leader Course, Advanced Leader Course, Combat Life Savers Course, Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) Course, Hazmat Driver Instructor’s Course, Joint Armorers Training Course, and the Basic Airborne Course.
His awards and decorations include, the Army Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Army Achievement Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Good Conduct Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the National Defense Service Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terror Service Medal, Overseas Service Ribbon, Non-commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon with numeral “2″ device, Army Service Ribbon, Special Forces Tab, Combat Infantryman Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge, and the Parachutist Badge. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.

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The elder Simpson was a career U.S. Ranger and Special Operations officer during his 24 years of active duty, with a “long tour in Iraq with conventional forces” in 2007, followed by “two short tours in Afghanistan with special operations forces.”
His oldest son also deployed to Iraq with Special Forces, and his youngest son, Michael H. Simpson, “deployed during the height of the 'surge' to Iraq for 15 months as an infantryman and is now Special Forces, like his dad and older brother,” the father wrote in the 2011 piece.
The “middle son” was on a second tour of Iraq as an infantryman, Simpson noted at the time.
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Michael W. Simpson said the family was not caught unprepared by the news — he has two older sons also in the military.
“We're warriors,” Simpson said in a previous interview. “We know that these things happen.”
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