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More than 5000 US Army Sent to Latvia Border, After Russia's first Nuclear Weapons Arrived in Belarus

Afghan War:Army Ranger Dies From Combat Wounds - plus another NATO casualty bulletin just crossed the wires

On 17 January 2019 in Landstuhl,Germany,US Army Ranger SGT Cameron A. Meddock,26,of Spearman,Texas,died from wounds caused by small arms fire he took during combat operations on 13 January in Jawand District of Badghis Province,Northwest Afghanistan.He was likely serving in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel,the US counterterror effort in Afghanistan.The province had until recently been considered quiet,but the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan group began filtering into the remoter areas there.*
SGT Meddock,the first combat death in Afghanistan for 2019,was on his second Afghanistan tour.He was a fire team leader with Company A,2nd Battalion,75th Ranger Regiment,out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord,Washington State.The Ranger's death coincides with a report by the Afghan Khaama Press news agency that a combat operation in Badghis Province has killed at least 10 ISIL-K Islamist extremists.*
SGT Meddock's decorations include the Purple Heart Medal;Joint Service Commendation for Combat;Army Achievement Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters;and the Afghan Campaign Medal with campaign star.
He was the husband of Stephanie Meddock,who is expecting their first child.*
Meanwhile,another NATO Resolute Support Press Release has just reached the desk.It says a US service member was killed in Afghanistan on 22 January 2019 as a result of enemy small arms fire.The incident is being investigated.In accordance with US Department of Defense policy,the name of the service member is being withheld until 24 hours after notification of next of kin is complete.More information will be shared as approporiate.*
My flesh and my heart may fail,but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
- Psalm 73:26

Afghan War:Army Ranger Killed in Battle with al-Qaida

A US Soldier killed in action over the weekend has been identified.On 24 November 2018,a US Army Ranger,SGT Leandro A.S. Jasso,25,of Leavenworth,Washington State,was killed as a result of a firefight with al-Qaida militants,the Pentagon said.Struck by small arms fire,he was medevaced to the neighbouring Helmand Province for advanced treatment,where he died.The battle occurred in Khash Rod District of Nimruz Province in Southwestern Afghanistan.Nimruz has desert borders with both Pakistan and Iran.The incident is under investigation.*
SGT Jasso was a team leader with Alpha Company,2nd Battalion,75th Ranger Regiment out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord,Washington.He was on his third tour in Afghanistan,serving in support of the US counterterror mission there,Operation Freedom's Sentinel.SGT Jasso had earlier received the Combat Infantryman Badge,indicating he was already a combat veteran at the time of Saturday's battle.According to 2nd Battalion commander LTCOL Rob McChrystal:
SGT Jasso was a humble professional who placed the mission first,lived the Ranger Creed and will be deeply missed.*
It was the second American death in the Afghan War this month,and the tenth of 2018.On 7 November,MAJ Brent R. Taylor,Mayor of North Ogden,Utah,was killed in a green on blue attack in the Afghan capital,Kabul,while serving with the Utah Army National Guard.

Pentagon Identifies Two Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan Raid - Ranger Regiment members

The Department of Defense has released the identities of the two Special Operations Forces Soldiers killed while conducting a dismounted operation with Afghan National Defence and Security Forces on 26 April 2017.The raid was in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel in Nangarhar Province,Eastern Afghanistan,where they fell to small arms fire from ISIL-K militants.Another Soldier sustained minor injuries in the battle near Achin district.
The engagement began on Wednesday at about 2230 hours local time and lasted over three hours,according to Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis,USN.About 50 US Army Rangers and 40 Afghan commandos participated.Supported by close air support from fighter aircraft,attack helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles,in the event,they killed several ISIL-K leaders and militants,about 35 in total.An investigation into the battle is ongoing,to include a possibility that the Rangers were killed by friendly fire,the Pentagon said.
Both men were assigned to 3rd Battalion,75th Ranger Regiment out of Fort Benning,Georgia.Killed in action were:
Sgt.Joshua P. Rodgers,22,of Bloomington,Illinois and
Sgt.Cameron H. Thomas,23,of Kettering,Ohio.
Both Soldiers enlisted in the Army after High School graduation and were selected for Ranger training.They were on their third tours in Afghanistan.
SGT Rodgers had been decorated with the Army Achievement Medal,Afghanistan Campaign Medal with Campaign Star,and the NATO Medal.
SGT Thomas had been decorated with the Joint Service Achievement Medal,Joint Meritorious Unit Award,and the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with Campaign Star,as well as the NATO Medal.*
The 75th Ranger Regiment describes itself as a unique Special Operations Force,the Army's Premier Raid Force.Its specially selected and well-trained Soldiers are constantly tested for the privilege of serving in the Regiment.The 75th provides a range of capabilities not found in any other SOF or conventional force,conducting large-scale joint forcible entry operations while simultaneously executing surgical special operations raids across the globe.General Creighton Abrams created the Ranger Battalions in 1974 as an elite force setting the standards for the Army.

Operation Inherent Resolve:US Marine Corps Artillery Moves into Syria-hefty reinforcements may be staged in Kuwait

About 400 US Marines of the 111th Marine Expeditionary Unit and US Army Rangers of the 75th Ranger Regiment have arrived in Syria,augmenting the 500 US troops already there on a train,advise and assist mission for the Syrian Democratic Forces,a conglomeration of militias led by the YPG Kurds.The Marines are there in a combat role with their light but powerful M777 155 mm Howitzers.This artillery has been assisting the SDF soften up Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant positions in and around Raqqa,the ISIL capital,since at least 9 March 2017.The Rangers have been patrolling around the newly liberated town of Manbij in Northern Syria in their armoured personnel carriers to stabilise the security situation and reassure skittish allies such as Turkey.
Besides the Marines and Rangers,US Army HiMARS rocket artillery is reportedly also in or headed for Syria to participate in the liberation of Raqqa,thus mirroring US on the ground activity in neighbouring Iraq.The extra firepower is part of the Trump administration's plan to accelerate the lasting military defeat of ISIL.Although the deployments are considered temporary,no end date has been set.
Additionally,the Pentagon is contemplating sending at least 1,000 more troops to Kuwait as potential reinforcements for the approximately 1,000 US forces already in Syria.Indeed,the number in Kuwait could go as high as 12,000 US troops being held in reserve for support of the momentous Battle of Raqqa,which could be intitiated within a few weeks' time.*
The M777 is a towed cannon with a range of 32 kilometers/20 miles.It has been used in the Afghan War as well.The HiMARS is already being used against ISIL in Iraq.According to US Air Force Colonel John Dorrian,spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force OIR:
We are going to prepare to liberate the city of Raqqa.This is an important task that has to be accomplished,because liberating that city is going to damage the enemy's prospects.It has a tremendous amount of symbolic importance.It's also a major command and control node for their external operations.
We have what I would describe as a pretty relentless air campaign to destroy enemy capabilities and to kill enemy fighters in that area already.That is something that we are going to continue and intensify with this new capability,COL Dorrian explained.*
On 20 March 2017,coalition military forces conducted 22 strikes consisting of 28 engagements against ISIL in Syria,including:
Near Abu Kamal,three strikes destroyed three wellheads and a pump jack;
Near Raqqa,19 strikes engaged eight ISIL tactical units;destroyed four pieces of oil lubricant equipment;three barges;three fighting positions;three headquarters;two VBIED facilities;two VBIEDs;a VBIED factory;a tunnel;a vehicle;a weapons storage facility;a command and control node;and damaged two supply nodes.*
Strikes are conducted by fighter,attack,bomber,rotary-wing or remotely piloted aircraft;rocket-propelled artillery;some ground-based tactical artillery when fired on planned targets.Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to manoeuvre roles is not classified as a strike,the CJTFOIR says.*
Those who have participated in Syria strikes include Australia;Bahrain;Canada;Denmark;France;Jordan;the Netherlands;Saudi Arabia;Turkey;the UAE;and the UK.

Inside the Night Raid on ISIL by Kurdish and US Special Forces - tactical details not on TV

At the request of the Kurdish Regional Government,Kurdish counterterrorist troops,backed by US Special Operations Forces,staged a raid in the early hours of Thursday on an ISIL prison in Kirkuk Province,seven kilometers north of the ISIL stronghold of Hawija in Northern Iraq.Dozens of US troops participated in the operation.Intelligence had been received indicating the prisoners' execution by ISIL militants was imminent.The raid was approved by Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter.
The raid began as five US helicopters left Irbil,the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan,to provide troop transport,intelligence and airstrikes for the operation.Attack helicopters strafed the prison area before the raid to block approaches for any potential ISIL reinforcements;after the raid,the helos destroyed the prison.
Once inserted in the prison,the Kurds came under intense attack.Seeing the Kurds pinned down and taking hits,their US advisors engaged the miltants.One of the US special operatives was wounded in the firefight and airlifted to an Irbil hospital,where he died-the first American to die in combat in Iraq since the US withdrew its forces in 2011.The battle lasted two hours.
Killed was Master Sergeant Joshua L. Wheeler,39,of Roland,Oklahoma.A member of the 2nd Battalion,75th Ranger Regiment,Joint Base Lewis-McChord,Washington state,he was assigned to Army Special Operations Command,Fort Bragg,North Carolina.MSGT Wheeler had served more than 12 combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan-one of the most experienced and valiant members of the SOFs.
About 70 prisoners,among whom were around 20 Iraqi Security Forces members,were freed during the raid.All of the prisoners were reportedly Arabs.More than 20 of the ISIL Islamist extremists were killed in the operation and five were captured.The US gleaned valuable intelligence on ISIL from the raid,said Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook.*
In May,US SOFs had staged a raid in Syria and killed a senior ISIL leader,Abu Sayyaf of Tunisia.

Iraq Crisis:The Role of Special Forces and Intelligence

The Special Operations Forces team that arrived in Iraq Saturday will assess where the other SOF members should be stationed,said Rear Admiral John Kirby,Pentagon Press Secretary.Some of the troops at the US embassy may be reassigned to assist the SOF troops.
The SOF team's mission in Iraq is to assess the enemy's capability;the equipment they have;and how bad off is the Iraqi army.They will also be drawing from military contractors,many of them former SOF members,RADM Kirby revealed.*
The Iraqi state is in danger,warned Senator Dianne Feinstein,D-California,a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee.The piercing with human intelligence is very difficult.This is extraordinarily difficult to do.The terrorist recruiting in Europe,the number of passport fighters,including Americans who are coming back into this country through countries we have a visa agreement with-there will be plots to kill Americans.*
A hundred Americans are believed to have been recruited by social media and are fighting alongside Islamist militants in Syria.*
What is the contingency plan for a complete takeover of Iraq and Syria?I don't know what the contingency plan is.I do know we're at the foot of an all-out civil war.We're on the verge of something very serious.I think our allies have to help us,and I think Iran can help encourage an inclusive Iraqi government.There has to be one.There can be a direct threat to US national security,Senator Feinstein said.*
Both manned and unmanned reconnaissance flights are going on over Iraq.A target list is being reviewed and revised constantly,the Pentagon added.
Out in the countryside,our very accurate airpower can do a successful job,said Admiral James Woolsey,US Navy retired and former CIA director.In the cities,I'm not sure it's appropriate,ADM Woolsey noted.*
The SOF troops are believed to include members of the US Army Delta Force,US Navy SEALs and US Army Rangers.