Showing posts with label General Austin S. Miller. Show all posts
Showing posts with label General Austin S. Miller. Show all posts
Thursday, July 15, 2021
Change of Command:General Miller Relinquishes Afghanistan Command
On 12 July 2021,GEN Austin "Scott" Miller,US Army, turned over the colours of United States Forces-Afghanistan to GEN Kenneth McKenzie,US Marine Corps,Commander US Central Command,in a ceremony in the Afghan capital,Kabul.The event signified the effective end of US military involvement in the Afghan War,which began in 2001 following the 9-11 attacks.GEN Miller,60,was the longest-serving general officer in the Afghan War,having assumed his post as US and NATO Resolute Support commander in Afghanistan in 2018.He had previously served in Iraq and the Battle of Mogadishu.He is expected to retire shortly.
On 14 July,GEN Miller was welcomed home at Joint Base Andrews,Maryland by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin abd Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff GEN Mark Milley,US Army.He then met with US President Joseph R. Biden,who thanked him for his years of exemplary service.
least 95% of US Forces have already left Afghanistan.Some 650 US Marines will remain in Kabul to provide US Embassy security.*
Before departing Kabul,GEN Miller had told ABC News that:
The loss of territory (to the Taliban militants) and the rapidity of the loss has to be concerning.*
All US combat troops are to be out of Afghanistan by 31 August 2021.An over-the-horizon (out of country) counterterror capability is being developed for use as needed in the Southwest Asian nation.This could include CIA Predator drone strikes and possibly involve the CIA's Ground Branch paramiltary operatives,who were the first US Forces to arrive in Afghanistan in 2001.*
Many districts in the country's rugged Northeast have reportedly fallen to the Taliban recently,with Afghan National Defence and Security Forces surrendering or fleeing to neighbouring Central Asian contries.Other districts have been retaken by the ANDSF.It is believed that the ANDSF are strong enough to protect Kabul itself at this time,given their airpower and 30,000 Special Operations Forces.
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Pentagon Briefing:Afghanistan,Syria,Europe
On 9 September 2019,US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Jonathan R. Hoffman gave an off-camera press briefing covering a broad range of concerns.
On Afghanistan:
With regard to potential troop drawdowns or potential numbers,those are some hypotheticals that we'll look at once an agreement is in place.What we've always said,though,is that the number of troops that we will have will always be the appropriate level that we need to provide security there.We're going to focus on the counter-terror mission,and we're going to focus on the reason we got into Afghanistan in the first place,and that is to prevent terrorist operations or individuals from using Afghanistan as a base from which to operate against the homeland.*
When we're looking at what is the enduring presence,the enduring mission of the US is that we're going to focus on having a CT mission,and we're going to be where we need to be anywhere in the world to focus on terrorist actors from having a safe haven from which they could strike the US,whether it's Afghanistan or elsewhere.*
So all of our combatant commanders around the world take the life and safety of the troops under their command seriously.So General (Austin S.) Miller has the authority to take steps and take measures that he believes are necessary to protect the troops that he has.*
On Europe:
On this current trip to Europe (by Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper),he discussed the need for our allies to contribute more.We need to raise all of our capabilities,both in Europe and the Asia-Pacific,to confront China and Russia.
In certain areas,it may make sense for our allies,if they want to see the increase in funding for facilities in their country on our bases,they might want to consider looking into them (to pay for those facilities themselves).*
On Syria:
I don't have any information on troop numbers in Syria right now,that I can provide you with.What I can tell you is that in Syria,we're working very closely,particularly in the security mechanism that's taking place along the Turkish border,to try to limit the conflict (with the YPG Kurds),work on a way where we're in close coordination with the Turkish allies to help that,so that there's no additional conflict between any side,so that we can focus on the D-ISIS mission.*
On Afghanistan:
With regard to potential troop drawdowns or potential numbers,those are some hypotheticals that we'll look at once an agreement is in place.What we've always said,though,is that the number of troops that we will have will always be the appropriate level that we need to provide security there.We're going to focus on the counter-terror mission,and we're going to focus on the reason we got into Afghanistan in the first place,and that is to prevent terrorist operations or individuals from using Afghanistan as a base from which to operate against the homeland.*
When we're looking at what is the enduring presence,the enduring mission of the US is that we're going to focus on having a CT mission,and we're going to be where we need to be anywhere in the world to focus on terrorist actors from having a safe haven from which they could strike the US,whether it's Afghanistan or elsewhere.*
So all of our combatant commanders around the world take the life and safety of the troops under their command seriously.So General (Austin S.) Miller has the authority to take steps and take measures that he believes are necessary to protect the troops that he has.*
On Europe:
On this current trip to Europe (by Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper),he discussed the need for our allies to contribute more.We need to raise all of our capabilities,both in Europe and the Asia-Pacific,to confront China and Russia.
In certain areas,it may make sense for our allies,if they want to see the increase in funding for facilities in their country on our bases,they might want to consider looking into them (to pay for those facilities themselves).*
On Syria:
I don't have any information on troop numbers in Syria right now,that I can provide you with.What I can tell you is that in Syria,we're working very closely,particularly in the security mechanism that's taking place along the Turkish border,to try to limit the conflict (with the YPG Kurds),work on a way where we're in close coordination with the Turkish allies to help that,so that there's no additional conflict between any side,so that we can focus on the D-ISIS mission.*
Thursday, November 29, 2018
US Troops Killed in Ghazni,Afghanistan Identified - General Miller Visited Province Armed with Long Rifle
Three Special Operations Forces members,including two Green Berets,serving in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel,the US antiterror campaign in Afghanistan,
were killed in Andar,Ghazni Province,Afghanistan on 27 November 2018.They were traveling in a convoy on the way to engage the enemy when an IED struck their vehicle.Three other US troops were wounded,as well as a civilian contractor.They were medevaced out for advanced treatment.The Taliban Islamist extremists claimed responsibility for the blast.
Those killed in action were identified as:
CPT Andrew P. Ross,US Army,29,of Lexington,Virginia;
SFC Eric M. Emond,US Army,39,of Brush Prairie,Washington State;
SSgt Dylan J. Elchin,25,US Air Force,of Hookstown,Pennsylvania.
CPT Ross and SFC Emond were members of 1st Battalion,3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne),out of Fort Bragg,North Carolina.SSgt Elchin was a member of 24th Special Operations Wing,26th Special Tactics Squadron,out of Cannon Air Force Base,New Mexico.*
COL Nathan Prussian,commander,3rd Special Forces Group,noted that:
Andrew and Eric were invaluable members and leaders in 3rd Special Forces Group and the Special Operations community.Our most heartfelt condolences go out to the families of these brave men.*
CPT Ross was on his second deployment.Among his decorations were the Bronze Star Medal (second award),Purple Heart Medal,NATO Medal,and the Combat Action Badge.He is survived by his wife and his parents.
SFC Emond was a veteran of more than 21 years of military service,both in the US Marines and the US Army.He was in his seventh deployment.Highly decorated,some of the awards he had earned were the Bronze Star Medal (third award),the Meritorious Service Medal,the NATO Achievement Medal (second award),the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal,and the Combat Action Badge.He is survived by his wife and three children.
SSgt Elchin was a special tactics combat controller,advising the ground forces commander,directing close air support aircraft,and delivering destructive ordnance on enemy targets in support of offensive combat operations.His decorations included the Bronze Star Medal,Army Commendation Medal with Valor,Air Force Combat Action Medal,and the NATO Medal.
LTC Gregory Walsh,commander of 26th Special Tactics Squadron,said that:
Dylan had an unusual drive to succeed and contribute to the team.He displayed maturity and stoicism beyond his years and was always level-headed,no matter what the situation.*
SSgt Elchin is survived by his fiancée and his parents.*
On 22 November 2018,GEN Austin S. Miller,commander,NATO Resolute Support Mission and US Forces-Afghanistan,visited Ghazni to encourage the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces in their struggle,with US assistance, to secure the unstable province.He was photographed carrying his M4 carbine long rifle,which is quite unusual for a general officer to be seen carrying.Another notable instance of a well-armed general was that of General Matthew Ridgway in the Korean War,wearing grenades on his vest.
His spokesman said GEN Miller just hadn't found anywhere to put it.The general varies his armament according to the circumstances and the location.Sometimes he takes his M4;sometimes he doesn't.*
"They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted.
They fell with their faces to the foe."
-Robert Laurence Binyon,from "For the Fallen"
were killed in Andar,Ghazni Province,Afghanistan on 27 November 2018.They were traveling in a convoy on the way to engage the enemy when an IED struck their vehicle.Three other US troops were wounded,as well as a civilian contractor.They were medevaced out for advanced treatment.The Taliban Islamist extremists claimed responsibility for the blast.
Those killed in action were identified as:
CPT Andrew P. Ross,US Army,29,of Lexington,Virginia;
SFC Eric M. Emond,US Army,39,of Brush Prairie,Washington State;
SSgt Dylan J. Elchin,25,US Air Force,of Hookstown,Pennsylvania.
CPT Ross and SFC Emond were members of 1st Battalion,3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne),out of Fort Bragg,North Carolina.SSgt Elchin was a member of 24th Special Operations Wing,26th Special Tactics Squadron,out of Cannon Air Force Base,New Mexico.*
COL Nathan Prussian,commander,3rd Special Forces Group,noted that:
Andrew and Eric were invaluable members and leaders in 3rd Special Forces Group and the Special Operations community.Our most heartfelt condolences go out to the families of these brave men.*
CPT Ross was on his second deployment.Among his decorations were the Bronze Star Medal (second award),Purple Heart Medal,NATO Medal,and the Combat Action Badge.He is survived by his wife and his parents.
SFC Emond was a veteran of more than 21 years of military service,both in the US Marines and the US Army.He was in his seventh deployment.Highly decorated,some of the awards he had earned were the Bronze Star Medal (third award),the Meritorious Service Medal,the NATO Achievement Medal (second award),the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal,and the Combat Action Badge.He is survived by his wife and three children.
SSgt Elchin was a special tactics combat controller,advising the ground forces commander,directing close air support aircraft,and delivering destructive ordnance on enemy targets in support of offensive combat operations.His decorations included the Bronze Star Medal,Army Commendation Medal with Valor,Air Force Combat Action Medal,and the NATO Medal.
LTC Gregory Walsh,commander of 26th Special Tactics Squadron,said that:
Dylan had an unusual drive to succeed and contribute to the team.He displayed maturity and stoicism beyond his years and was always level-headed,no matter what the situation.*
SSgt Elchin is survived by his fiancée and his parents.*
On 22 November 2018,GEN Austin S. Miller,commander,NATO Resolute Support Mission and US Forces-Afghanistan,visited Ghazni to encourage the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces in their struggle,with US assistance, to secure the unstable province.He was photographed carrying his M4 carbine long rifle,which is quite unusual for a general officer to be seen carrying.Another notable instance of a well-armed general was that of General Matthew Ridgway in the Korean War,wearing grenades on his vest.
His spokesman said GEN Miller just hadn't found anywhere to put it.The general varies his armament according to the circumstances and the location.Sometimes he takes his M4;sometimes he doesn't.*
"They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted.
They fell with their faces to the foe."
-Robert Laurence Binyon,from "For the Fallen"
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
NATO Bulletin and Update:Three More US Troops Die in Ghazni,Afghanistan Blast;Initial Review of Nimruz Province Incident Indicates Friendly Fire
NATO's Resolute Support Mission has issued two news releases today on US fatalities in the Afghan War,one of them updating yesterday's release on the death of SGT Leandro A.S. Jasso;the other reports a separate,later incident which occurred on 27 November 2018.
The new incident:
Word has been received that three more US service members were killed in action on 27 November 2018,this time near the city of Ghazni,which is south of the Afghan capital,Kabul.They died in an IED explosion that was claimed by the Taliban Islamist extremists.Three more troops were wounded,as was a civilian contractor.The wounded personnel were medevaced out for advanced treatment.Further details are pending family notification.*
The update:
An initial review of the 24 November 2018 incident that took the life of SGT Jasso of Leavenworth,Washington State shows that he likely died of friendly fire,NATO explained.SGT Jasso was accompanying members of the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces on an assault of multiple barricaded al-Qaida shooters.In the close quarters combat that ensued,it is believed that an ANDSF member mistakenly shot SGT Jasso.There is no evidence of a green on blue attack (insider attack) in this case.
In the words of Resolute Support and US Forces-Afghanistan commander GEN Austin Scott Miller:
SGT Jasso was killed defending our nation,fighting al-Qaida alongside our Afghan partners.All of us,and throughout our Coalition of 41 nations,recognise the threats posed by groups such as al-Qaida and ISIS and are determined to fight them here.*
The two lethal incidents bring the total US troop losses in the Afghan War this year to 13.
The new incident:
Word has been received that three more US service members were killed in action on 27 November 2018,this time near the city of Ghazni,which is south of the Afghan capital,Kabul.They died in an IED explosion that was claimed by the Taliban Islamist extremists.Three more troops were wounded,as was a civilian contractor.The wounded personnel were medevaced out for advanced treatment.Further details are pending family notification.*
The update:
An initial review of the 24 November 2018 incident that took the life of SGT Jasso of Leavenworth,Washington State shows that he likely died of friendly fire,NATO explained.SGT Jasso was accompanying members of the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces on an assault of multiple barricaded al-Qaida shooters.In the close quarters combat that ensued,it is believed that an ANDSF member mistakenly shot SGT Jasso.There is no evidence of a green on blue attack (insider attack) in this case.
In the words of Resolute Support and US Forces-Afghanistan commander GEN Austin Scott Miller:
SGT Jasso was killed defending our nation,fighting al-Qaida alongside our Afghan partners.All of us,and throughout our Coalition of 41 nations,recognise the threats posed by groups such as al-Qaida and ISIS and are determined to fight them here.*
The two lethal incidents bring the total US troop losses in the Afghan War this year to 13.
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
West Virginia Soldier Killed in Afghanistan as New Commander Takes the Reins
A senior US Army non-commissioned officer was killed in a green on blue attack,an attack by a person disguised as an Afghan soldier or police officer against a coalition member,on Monday 3 September 2018 in Eastern Logar Province.CSM Timothy Bolyard of Thornton,West Virginia,42,was the sixth US combat death of the year in the Afghan War,and the second to fall in a green on blue attack.CPL Joseph Maciel was killed in a green on blue attack in July in Uruzgan Province.*
A second US Soldier was wounded in the most recent attack and is in stable condition.Reportedly, there had been a meeting of key Afghan leaders and US military advisors at Forward Operating Base Shark preceding the attack.Then of a sudden a spray of bullets from an Afghan National Police Humvee struck the two Soldiers in the back.An ANP officer was shot dead in response,and four others were arrested.
The Taliban miltants have an office that promotes and encourages green on blue attacks.*
CSM Bolyard was a member of 1st Squadron,38th Cavalry Regiment,currently a unit of the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB) out of Fort Benning,Georgia.The SFAB concept was formulated by the Trump Administration as part of its South Asia Strategy.It assigns members of non-special operations units to train,advise and assist the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces on the frontlines,thus freeing up Special Operations Forces and Brigade Combat Teams to concentrate on counter-terror missions against the Taliban,ISIL-K and al-Qaida Islamist extremists.*
Another US service member was killed in Afghanistan on 4 September in a so-called non-combat incident,the seventh US military death in Afghanistan for 2018.This service member's identity is being withheld pending family notification.Both incidents are under investigation.*
CSM Bolyard,who was married and the father of two,was on his thirteenth deployment and had been repeatedly decorated for his accomplishments,having been awarded six Bronze Star Medals,two of them with combat V device for valour;six Army Commendation Medals;nine Army Achievement Medals;four Meritorious Service Medals;the Iraq Campaign Medal with four Campaign Stars;the Kosovo Campaign Medal;and the Combat Action Badge.
BGEN Scott Jackson,commander of 1st SFAB,said of CSM Bolyard that:
He will live in our memories and the hundreds of Soldiers he led and cared for throughout his exceptional career.*
On Sunday 2 September 2018,the former Commander,US Special Operations Command,GEN Austin Scott Miller,US Army,assumed command of NATO Resolute Support Mission and US Forces-Afghanistan from GEN John Nicholson after his 30 months of service.GEN Miller has served in both Iraq and Afghanistan,as well as Somalia,having been decorated with the Bronze Star Medal,Purple Heart Medal and the Legion of Merit,among other awards.
A second US Soldier was wounded in the most recent attack and is in stable condition.Reportedly, there had been a meeting of key Afghan leaders and US military advisors at Forward Operating Base Shark preceding the attack.Then of a sudden a spray of bullets from an Afghan National Police Humvee struck the two Soldiers in the back.An ANP officer was shot dead in response,and four others were arrested.
The Taliban miltants have an office that promotes and encourages green on blue attacks.*
CSM Bolyard was a member of 1st Squadron,38th Cavalry Regiment,currently a unit of the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB) out of Fort Benning,Georgia.The SFAB concept was formulated by the Trump Administration as part of its South Asia Strategy.It assigns members of non-special operations units to train,advise and assist the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces on the frontlines,thus freeing up Special Operations Forces and Brigade Combat Teams to concentrate on counter-terror missions against the Taliban,ISIL-K and al-Qaida Islamist extremists.*
Another US service member was killed in Afghanistan on 4 September in a so-called non-combat incident,the seventh US military death in Afghanistan for 2018.This service member's identity is being withheld pending family notification.Both incidents are under investigation.*
CSM Bolyard,who was married and the father of two,was on his thirteenth deployment and had been repeatedly decorated for his accomplishments,having been awarded six Bronze Star Medals,two of them with combat V device for valour;six Army Commendation Medals;nine Army Achievement Medals;four Meritorious Service Medals;the Iraq Campaign Medal with four Campaign Stars;the Kosovo Campaign Medal;and the Combat Action Badge.
BGEN Scott Jackson,commander of 1st SFAB,said of CSM Bolyard that:
He will live in our memories and the hundreds of Soldiers he led and cared for throughout his exceptional career.*
On Sunday 2 September 2018,the former Commander,US Special Operations Command,GEN Austin Scott Miller,US Army,assumed command of NATO Resolute Support Mission and US Forces-Afghanistan from GEN John Nicholson after his 30 months of service.GEN Miller has served in both Iraq and Afghanistan,as well as Somalia,having been decorated with the Bronze Star Medal,Purple Heart Medal and the Legion of Merit,among other awards.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)