On 27 June 2016,US Soldiers blasted shells from an M109 A6 Paladin howitzer,which is a very powerful self-propelled artillery piece,at Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant militants during a fire mission at Al-Taqqadum Air Base in Habbaniya,Anbar Province.This illustrates the wide-ranging role of US artillery in the anti-ISIL Operation Inherent Resolve:it is not limited to the Mosul recapture build-up in the north of the country;now it is clearly being utilised to suppress ISIL activity in Anbar in Western Iraq as well.*
The air base is a joint environment,home to Task Force Al Taqqadum Advise and Assist site,with all four Pentagon branches of the military represented,along with Allies Italian and Australian troops and their Iraqi counterparts of the 8th,10th and 16th Iraqi Army Divisions;the Iraqi Anbar Operations Centre,or AOC;Anbar National Police;and the Iraqi Counterintelligence Service.Still classified as an expeditionary airfield,it is officially a US Marine Corps base served with a complete range of support by the US Air Force's 321st Contingency Response Element in combination with Marines from Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Central Command,who will handle long-term security and logistics at the base,once the 321st withdraws.*
TFTQ,as the task force is known,operates out of Camp Manion at Taqqadum.It is an Operation Inherent Resolve force of Marines and Sailors from II Marine Expeditionary Force;the Marine augments from SPMAGTF-CR-CC;and members of the US Army's 1st Infantry Division.Its mission is to advise and assist the Iraqi Security Forces in the Ramadi area of Anbar,which,despite protracted combat operations and some notable successes,remains a somewhat unstable and contested zone.For example,as late as 25 July,Khalidiya Island in Eastern Ramadi was still the target of an extensive military operation by the ISF against ISIL strongholds and headquarters on the island.Also on that day,the ISF were reinforcing to counter reported plans by ISIL to converge on Haditha district from three directions west of Ramadi.*
To assist,the US Marines are embedded as full time advisors with the AOC,helping coordinate airstrikes and counterstrikes based on Iraqi reports of encounters with the enemy such as firefights;and intelligence data.USMC Colonel Christopher J. Douglas,TFTQ commander,said the assistance we provide is specifically in the form of intelligence,surveillance and reconnaissance flights and air support and strikes that are provided by coalition aircraft.All strikes and operations are approved by Iraqi leaders.*
The environment that we train in now is not a learning environment;we are very much in an operational environment where training is not the primary focus,said a USMC primary advisor to the 8th Iraqi Army Division.Still,they have conducted artillery,communications,medical,explosive ordnance disposal and engineering training as the occasion presented itself.*
Showing posts with label Ramadi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ramadi. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
War On ISIL:Navy SEAL Killed in Action - how the US responded to the assault
At 9:30 am local time,ISIL militants,having broken through Kurdish Peshmerga front lines near the town of Tel Asqof in Northern Iraq with bulldozers and suicide bombs,including vehicle-borne IEDs,killed a US Navy SEAL with direct small arms fire 3-5 km behind the front lines.He's been identified as Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Charles Keating IV,31,of Phoenix,Arizona,grandson of the late banker Charles H. Keating,Jr.,who was imprisoned for five years for financial crimes committed in the 1980s.SWO Keating,based at Coronado,California,was there advising and assisting the Peshmerga,who are regarded as among the most effective fighting forces in the anti-ISIL Operation Inherent Resolve.*
The militants had overrun Asqof at dawn in a rare,if temporary,loss by the Kurds.SWO Keating,engaged to be married,was killed in a firefight that erupted in the course of the extended battle that followed.US F-15Cs and drones came to the Kurds' assistance,dropping at least 20 bombs and helping to drive ISIL back out of Tel Asqof.It was the third US combat death in OIR.Besides SWO Keating,according to the Kurdistan Region Security Council,more than 80 militants and at least 10 Kurds died in the Battle of Tel Asqof,which is about 28 km/17 miles from the ISIL stronghold of Mosul.Christian militiamen also assisted the Kurds.*
The US is in the process of moving Special Operations Forces closer to the front lines in Northern Iraq,and bringing in more troops and Apache helicopters as OIR ground forces begin encircling Mosul,having driven ISIL out of Ramadi,Anbar Province in December 2015,and then expelling them from the Hit region,also in Anbar Province,driving the Islamist extremists up the Euphrates River Valley.
The militants had overrun Asqof at dawn in a rare,if temporary,loss by the Kurds.SWO Keating,engaged to be married,was killed in a firefight that erupted in the course of the extended battle that followed.US F-15Cs and drones came to the Kurds' assistance,dropping at least 20 bombs and helping to drive ISIL back out of Tel Asqof.It was the third US combat death in OIR.Besides SWO Keating,according to the Kurdistan Region Security Council,more than 80 militants and at least 10 Kurds died in the Battle of Tel Asqof,which is about 28 km/17 miles from the ISIL stronghold of Mosul.Christian militiamen also assisted the Kurds.*
The US is in the process of moving Special Operations Forces closer to the front lines in Northern Iraq,and bringing in more troops and Apache helicopters as OIR ground forces begin encircling Mosul,having driven ISIL out of Ramadi,Anbar Province in December 2015,and then expelling them from the Hit region,also in Anbar Province,driving the Islamist extremists up the Euphrates River Valley.
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
More US Troops Headed for Middle East - new special forces unit
Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford,US Marine Corps,testified before the House Armed Services Committee today to brief the lawmakers on the War On ISIL.Secetary Carter unveiled a new Special Operations Forces unit that will be based in Iraq.The exact number of troops in the Special Expeditionary Targeting Force was not disclosed,but they will number more than the 50 SOFs heading for Syria in a separate accompanying and enabling unit.The SETF will conduct operations in both Iraq and Syria,as opportunity dictates.The new unit will have the missions of:
1.conducting raids;
2.freeing hostages;
3.capturing ISIL leaders;and
4.gathering intelligence.
These missions have been carried out before,Mr.Carter pointed out,but this time the SOFs will be there on a standing basis.For example,there have been recent raids to liberate prisoners in an ISIL prison in Iraq and to kill ISIL leader Abu Sayyaf and capture his wife.
The SETF may operate alone or,more likely,as part of a mixed force,Mr.Carter said.It is a new way of achieving our objective-and there will be more.
The territory under ISIL control has shrunk-that's a fact,Mr.Carter insisted.There's still a lot further to go.We are gathering momentum.*
I do not believe we are limited to the 3500 US troop level currently in Iraq,GEN Dunford added.I don't feel inhibited about recommending more.I will bring these options to the Secretary and the President,regardless of what the force management numbers were in the past.*
Secretary Carter pointed out that all US forces in Iraq and Syria are now under unified command under Lieutenant General Sean McFarland,US Army in Baghdad.For example,LTGEN McFarland is now connected daily to Iraqi President Abadi and forces in Ramadi.This unity of command is really critical.*
Right now,our focus is on Ramadi,GEN Dunford told the Committee.Beiji and Sinjar have fallen;Mosul is a future operation.Probably months from now we will start to see operations in Mosul.*
The 50 SOFs in Syria are just for starters,Mr.Carter revealed.We're prepared to do more and I think the President will authorise this.It hinges on us finding the capable local forces we can enable in this way.The more we find them,the more we'll do.
We killed ISIL's Libya leader two weeks ago.We're determined to get them wherever they arise.*
GEN Dunford listed the areas of concern about ISIL activity as being Egypt;the Boko Haram ISIL affiliate in Nigeria;Lebanon;Jordan;Yemen;Afghanistan and Pakistan.*
We do need our allies to do more,Mr.Carter noted.The British are debating it;the Germans are capable of doing more,and we want them to.I hope the Paris attacks galvanise the Europeans to do more,because they need to do more.Our Gulf Arab allies have been unwilling to field their forces.Many of them weight air forces over ground forces.They need to build and wield their ground forces.
1.conducting raids;
2.freeing hostages;
3.capturing ISIL leaders;and
4.gathering intelligence.
These missions have been carried out before,Mr.Carter pointed out,but this time the SOFs will be there on a standing basis.For example,there have been recent raids to liberate prisoners in an ISIL prison in Iraq and to kill ISIL leader Abu Sayyaf and capture his wife.
The SETF may operate alone or,more likely,as part of a mixed force,Mr.Carter said.It is a new way of achieving our objective-and there will be more.
The territory under ISIL control has shrunk-that's a fact,Mr.Carter insisted.There's still a lot further to go.We are gathering momentum.*
I do not believe we are limited to the 3500 US troop level currently in Iraq,GEN Dunford added.I don't feel inhibited about recommending more.I will bring these options to the Secretary and the President,regardless of what the force management numbers were in the past.*
Secretary Carter pointed out that all US forces in Iraq and Syria are now under unified command under Lieutenant General Sean McFarland,US Army in Baghdad.For example,LTGEN McFarland is now connected daily to Iraqi President Abadi and forces in Ramadi.This unity of command is really critical.*
Right now,our focus is on Ramadi,GEN Dunford told the Committee.Beiji and Sinjar have fallen;Mosul is a future operation.Probably months from now we will start to see operations in Mosul.*
The 50 SOFs in Syria are just for starters,Mr.Carter revealed.We're prepared to do more and I think the President will authorise this.It hinges on us finding the capable local forces we can enable in this way.The more we find them,the more we'll do.
We killed ISIL's Libya leader two weeks ago.We're determined to get them wherever they arise.*
GEN Dunford listed the areas of concern about ISIL activity as being Egypt;the Boko Haram ISIL affiliate in Nigeria;Lebanon;Jordan;Yemen;Afghanistan and Pakistan.*
We do need our allies to do more,Mr.Carter noted.The British are debating it;the Germans are capable of doing more,and we want them to.I hope the Paris attacks galvanise the Europeans to do more,because they need to do more.Our Gulf Arab allies have been unwilling to field their forces.Many of them weight air forces over ground forces.They need to build and wield their ground forces.
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
CENTCOM Update:The War On ISIL - plus Australia's first Syria strike
On Friday,11 September,US Central Command spokesman Colonel Patrick Ryder,US Air Force,gave a progress report on Operation Inherent Resolve to journalists via teleconference.The OIR coalition's support continues to enable indigenous forces by applying pressure on ISIL's key command and control areas;logistics nodes;staging areas;and lines of communication.A special focus has been the Beiji and Ramadi areas,COL Ryder said.For example,one recent airstrike targeted a key ISIL staging area and weapons depot just west of Ramadi in a soccer stadium.
The Beiji oil refinery is still being contested,with both ISIL and the Iraqi Security Forces bringing in reinforcements.From 2-9 September,13 coalition airstrikes took out a number of ISIL personnel there;nearly 100 vehicles;and several weapons and supply caches,according to COL Ryder.ISIL continues to put up a fight,but we assess they have lost several hundred fighters and continue to reinforce failure by sending in additional forces.*
Besides airstrikes,the OIR coalition Building Partner Capacity sites have trained around 13,000 ISF since the operation began,with 4,000 more troops currently in training.We have seen graduates of this program subsequently operate effectively in areas around Ramadi and other parts of Iraq,such as the Iraqi forces trained in large scale IED clearing who are reducing ISF and civilian casualties.
On another front,the advise and assist mission continues to enable ground forces in Iraq by helping with planning ground operations;intelligence sharing;integrating air support into operations;logistics planning;command and control;and communications.*
In Syria,the OIR coalition's train-and-equip programme continues training vetted Syrian opposition force recruits,with a fourth class recently having begun their training.It's important to keep in mind this programme is still in its early stages and the forces trained are expected to be additive in nature.This will further contribute to what's already being done by the Syrian Kurds,Arabs and other anti-ISIL forces.*
In the latest airstrikes in Syria,fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 4 sorties.Near Dayr Ar Zawr,2 sorties struck an ISIL crude oil collection point and destroyed an ISIL excavator.Near Kobani,a sortie destroyed an ISIL artillery piece.Near Mara,a sortie struck an ISIL tactical unit.*
In Iraq,attack;bomber;fighter;fighter attack;and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 14 airstrikes coordinated with the Iraqi government.Among them,near Beiji,4 sorties struck 1 large and 2 small ISIL tactical units and destroyed 6 ISIL buildings;3 ISIL vehicles;an ISIL anti-aircraft artillery piece;and an ISIL structure.
Near Ramadi,2 sorties destroyed 4 ISIL weapons caches;an ISIL armoured personnel carrier;and an ISIL vehicle-borne IED.Near Tuz,a sortie struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position.*
The Iraq airstrikes were carried out by the US;Australia;Canada;Denmark;France;Jordan;the Netherlands;and the UK.
The Syria airstrikes were carried out by the US;Bahrain;Canada;Jordan;Saudi Arabia;new participant Turkey;and the UAE.
Update:On Tuesday,Australia revealed it had conducted its first airstrike in Syria on Monday 14 September.Two RAAF Hornets identified an ISIL armoured personnel carrier hidden in an ISIL compound,according to Defence Minister Kevin Andrews.One of the Hornets attacked the APC with a precision guided weapon,destroying it.
Last week,Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Australia was extending its OIR airstrikes from Iraq into Syria at the request of the US.Australia has been conducting Iraq airstrikes for about a year.
The Beiji oil refinery is still being contested,with both ISIL and the Iraqi Security Forces bringing in reinforcements.From 2-9 September,13 coalition airstrikes took out a number of ISIL personnel there;nearly 100 vehicles;and several weapons and supply caches,according to COL Ryder.ISIL continues to put up a fight,but we assess they have lost several hundred fighters and continue to reinforce failure by sending in additional forces.*
Besides airstrikes,the OIR coalition Building Partner Capacity sites have trained around 13,000 ISF since the operation began,with 4,000 more troops currently in training.We have seen graduates of this program subsequently operate effectively in areas around Ramadi and other parts of Iraq,such as the Iraqi forces trained in large scale IED clearing who are reducing ISF and civilian casualties.
On another front,the advise and assist mission continues to enable ground forces in Iraq by helping with planning ground operations;intelligence sharing;integrating air support into operations;logistics planning;command and control;and communications.*
In Syria,the OIR coalition's train-and-equip programme continues training vetted Syrian opposition force recruits,with a fourth class recently having begun their training.It's important to keep in mind this programme is still in its early stages and the forces trained are expected to be additive in nature.This will further contribute to what's already being done by the Syrian Kurds,Arabs and other anti-ISIL forces.*
In the latest airstrikes in Syria,fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 4 sorties.Near Dayr Ar Zawr,2 sorties struck an ISIL crude oil collection point and destroyed an ISIL excavator.Near Kobani,a sortie destroyed an ISIL artillery piece.Near Mara,a sortie struck an ISIL tactical unit.*
In Iraq,attack;bomber;fighter;fighter attack;and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 14 airstrikes coordinated with the Iraqi government.Among them,near Beiji,4 sorties struck 1 large and 2 small ISIL tactical units and destroyed 6 ISIL buildings;3 ISIL vehicles;an ISIL anti-aircraft artillery piece;and an ISIL structure.
Near Ramadi,2 sorties destroyed 4 ISIL weapons caches;an ISIL armoured personnel carrier;and an ISIL vehicle-borne IED.Near Tuz,a sortie struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position.*
The Iraq airstrikes were carried out by the US;Australia;Canada;Denmark;France;Jordan;the Netherlands;and the UK.
The Syria airstrikes were carried out by the US;Bahrain;Canada;Jordan;Saudi Arabia;new participant Turkey;and the UAE.
Update:On Tuesday,Australia revealed it had conducted its first airstrike in Syria on Monday 14 September.Two RAAF Hornets identified an ISIL armoured personnel carrier hidden in an ISIL compound,according to Defence Minister Kevin Andrews.One of the Hornets attacked the APC with a precision guided weapon,destroying it.
Last week,Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Australia was extending its OIR airstrikes from Iraq into Syria at the request of the US.Australia has been conducting Iraq airstrikes for about a year.
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
CENTCOM Gives Iraq Campaign Update-Iraq receives F-16s
The first 4 of the Iraqi Air Force's 36 new Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcons have arrived at Balad Air Base,Iraq,their pilots and crews having undergone extensive US Air Force training in Arizona.The NATO platform aircraft gives the IAF the interoperability necessary to conduct operations with coalition forces,said US Central Command spokesman Colonel Patrick Ryder,USAF in a teleconference with reporters on 24 July.
COL Ryder also gave an assessment of the Iraqi Security Forces' recent progress against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.They are in the process of isolating Ramadi in Anbar Province,to conduct a deliberate clearing operation to retake the provincial capital city,COL Ryder noted.The counterattack began on 12 July,and since then,76 Operation Inherent Resolve airstrikes have weakened ISIL by targeting enemy positions,weapons caches and equipment.ISIL is resisting by using vehicle bombs,suicide bombers and other tactics to slow the ISF advance,as well as by circulating propaganda to mitigate their losses and overstate operational performance.CENTCOM is encouraged by the ISF well-developed and comprehensive plan they have put together and executed.
The majority of Beiji is now under ISF control,although its oil refinery,the largest in Iraq,is still being contested.In the North,the Kurdish forces hold their defensive lines from Sinjar to the north side of Mosul,then down to the north of Kirkuk aginst ISIL's harassing attacks centered between Sinjar and Mosul.Since 12 July,coalition aircraft have conducted 16 dynamic airstrikes on enemy personnel,weapons and equipment in the Mosul area.
Overall,we've removed hundreds more fighters from the battlefield in Iraq and Syria,including numerous ISIL leaders and facilitators.This inevitably reduces the organisation's effectiveness and forces them to make tough choices on how and where to apply resources,COL Ryder concluded.*
Among the latest airstrike results as of 28 July:
Fighter,fighter-attack,bomber and remotely-piloted aircraft conducted airstrikes in Syria.Near Hasakah,7 sorties destroyed 4 ISIL fighting positions,a staging position,a bunker,a motorcycle and a structure.
Near Aleppo,2 sorties destroyed a vehicle,7 fighting positions and a bunker.*
There were 23 airstrikes in Iraq approved by the Iraqi Ministry of Defence:
Near Beiji,3 sorties struck 2 tactical units and terrain,denying ISIL a tactical advantage,and destroying 2 buildings.
Near Makhmur,3 sorties destroyed 19 fighting positions,10 tunnels and 3 vehicles.
Near Mosul,2 sorties destroyed 2 fighting positions and a vehicle.
Near Ramadi,6 sorties destroyed an excavator,2 fighting positions,a resupply truck,a mortar position,an anti-aircraft artillery weapon,a vehicle and a structure.
Near Sinjar,5 sorties destroyed a vehicle,a heavy machine gun,5 fighting positions and a light machine gun.
Those participating in the Iraq strikes included the US,Australia,Canada,Denmark, France,Jordan,the Netherlands and the UK.
Participating in the Syria strikes were the US,Bahrain,Canada,Jordan,Saudi Arabia and the UAE.*
Lockheed Martin (LMT)
COL Ryder also gave an assessment of the Iraqi Security Forces' recent progress against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.They are in the process of isolating Ramadi in Anbar Province,to conduct a deliberate clearing operation to retake the provincial capital city,COL Ryder noted.The counterattack began on 12 July,and since then,76 Operation Inherent Resolve airstrikes have weakened ISIL by targeting enemy positions,weapons caches and equipment.ISIL is resisting by using vehicle bombs,suicide bombers and other tactics to slow the ISF advance,as well as by circulating propaganda to mitigate their losses and overstate operational performance.CENTCOM is encouraged by the ISF well-developed and comprehensive plan they have put together and executed.
The majority of Beiji is now under ISF control,although its oil refinery,the largest in Iraq,is still being contested.In the North,the Kurdish forces hold their defensive lines from Sinjar to the north side of Mosul,then down to the north of Kirkuk aginst ISIL's harassing attacks centered between Sinjar and Mosul.Since 12 July,coalition aircraft have conducted 16 dynamic airstrikes on enemy personnel,weapons and equipment in the Mosul area.
Overall,we've removed hundreds more fighters from the battlefield in Iraq and Syria,including numerous ISIL leaders and facilitators.This inevitably reduces the organisation's effectiveness and forces them to make tough choices on how and where to apply resources,COL Ryder concluded.*
Among the latest airstrike results as of 28 July:
Fighter,fighter-attack,bomber and remotely-piloted aircraft conducted airstrikes in Syria.Near Hasakah,7 sorties destroyed 4 ISIL fighting positions,a staging position,a bunker,a motorcycle and a structure.
Near Aleppo,2 sorties destroyed a vehicle,7 fighting positions and a bunker.*
There were 23 airstrikes in Iraq approved by the Iraqi Ministry of Defence:
Near Beiji,3 sorties struck 2 tactical units and terrain,denying ISIL a tactical advantage,and destroying 2 buildings.
Near Makhmur,3 sorties destroyed 19 fighting positions,10 tunnels and 3 vehicles.
Near Mosul,2 sorties destroyed 2 fighting positions and a vehicle.
Near Ramadi,6 sorties destroyed an excavator,2 fighting positions,a resupply truck,a mortar position,an anti-aircraft artillery weapon,a vehicle and a structure.
Near Sinjar,5 sorties destroyed a vehicle,a heavy machine gun,5 fighting positions and a light machine gun.
Those participating in the Iraq strikes included the US,Australia,Canada,Denmark, France,Jordan,the Netherlands and the UK.
Participating in the Syria strikes were the US,Bahrain,Canada,Jordan,Saudi Arabia and the UAE.*
Lockheed Martin (LMT)
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Crazed Ex-Marine Kills Navy SEAL Hero Chris Kyle
Eddie Ray Routh,a former US Marine reportedly suffering from PTSD,allegedly shot and killed noted Iraq War veteran Chris Kyle,38,and his friend Chad Littlefield at a Texas shooting range Saturday,February 2.Routh was arrested that night after a brief highway chase and arraigned on two counts of capital murder.
Kyle,who served as a US Navy SEAL from 1999-2009,wrote the best-selling "American Sniper:The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in US Military History" along with Scott McEwen and Jim Defelice.It was published in hardcover last year and in trade paperback on January 29,2013.He is credited with 160 confirmed kills in Iraq,where militants called him "al-Shaitan,"the devil,and put a 20,000 dollar bounty on his head.
In a C-SPAN interview last year,Kyle revealed his mindset.He didn't think of himself as being better than other Navy SEALs or other soldiers generally.It was all a matter of honour.
He got chills and sometimes choked up when the national anthem was played.You're gonna do something for the greater good,Kyle said,for everybody in the country.As a civilian,that's definitely a problem;it's for your own good.This is still the greatest country in the world.
I'm not out there to rack up kills and get these huge numbers.I'd like to be known by how many I saved-not just military,but the Iraqi civilians also.You can't think of the person you're shooting as an actual person.It's unfortunate,but war is hell.It's hit the fan,and we're there to make it stop.I'm just trying to save my guys.
It's doing the right thing at the right time.A lot of math is involved,especially the farther out you go.
I didn't write the book to glorify myself,but those I served with and who are still out there serving.All of my portion of the proceeds are going to the families of the two I lost.Protesters should protest Congress and the President.Leave the military guys alone.They're willing to die for our safety and security.
PTSD is nothing to be looked down on.We need to help them.It's something you have to live with or work around.Just be there for them.Just give them your undying support,Kyle urged.
Kyle achieved the rank of Chief Petty Officer.He was awarded two Silver Stars; five Bronze Stars with Valor;and two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Awards with V.He fought at Fallujah and Ramadi.Ironically,it was one of his own that brought him down.
"American Sniper" is getting an average rating of about four out of five stars from readers.The paperback is listed at 9.99 new.Another book was reportedly in the works.
Kyle,who served as a US Navy SEAL from 1999-2009,wrote the best-selling "American Sniper:The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in US Military History" along with Scott McEwen and Jim Defelice.It was published in hardcover last year and in trade paperback on January 29,2013.He is credited with 160 confirmed kills in Iraq,where militants called him "al-Shaitan,"the devil,and put a 20,000 dollar bounty on his head.
In a C-SPAN interview last year,Kyle revealed his mindset.He didn't think of himself as being better than other Navy SEALs or other soldiers generally.It was all a matter of honour.
He got chills and sometimes choked up when the national anthem was played.You're gonna do something for the greater good,Kyle said,for everybody in the country.As a civilian,that's definitely a problem;it's for your own good.This is still the greatest country in the world.
I'm not out there to rack up kills and get these huge numbers.I'd like to be known by how many I saved-not just military,but the Iraqi civilians also.You can't think of the person you're shooting as an actual person.It's unfortunate,but war is hell.It's hit the fan,and we're there to make it stop.I'm just trying to save my guys.
It's doing the right thing at the right time.A lot of math is involved,especially the farther out you go.
I didn't write the book to glorify myself,but those I served with and who are still out there serving.All of my portion of the proceeds are going to the families of the two I lost.Protesters should protest Congress and the President.Leave the military guys alone.They're willing to die for our safety and security.
PTSD is nothing to be looked down on.We need to help them.It's something you have to live with or work around.Just be there for them.Just give them your undying support,Kyle urged.
Kyle achieved the rank of Chief Petty Officer.He was awarded two Silver Stars; five Bronze Stars with Valor;and two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Awards with V.He fought at Fallujah and Ramadi.Ironically,it was one of his own that brought him down.
"American Sniper" is getting an average rating of about four out of five stars from readers.The paperback is listed at 9.99 new.Another book was reportedly in the works.
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