An infantry squad leader can exercise a few options when engaged by insurgents. He could assault through the attack, while weighing the possibility of losing one of his Marines in the crossfire, or he can use one of the many assets available to him and call for artillery support. The Marines of Alpha Battery quickly stir up a storm to bring steel rain to the enemy when they receive the call for support.

On Aug. 1, the last American Red Cross team in Iraq, which was located at Joint Base Balad, closed its doors after opening June 2003.

To highlight the event, the ARC hosted a farewell ceremony and barbecue July 30 to celebrate more than eight years of operation.

“The ARC’s primary mission is to deliver emergency communications to deployed service members and civilians supporting the military 24/7, 365 days a year,” said Christina Arose, ARC station manager, who is deployed from U.S. Army Garrison Daegu, Republic of South Korea.

Marines and sailors with the Houston-based Lone Star Battalion, 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, have been conducting security and counterinsurgency operations in the vicinity of the Camp Leatherneck-Camp Bastion complex since deploying to Afghanistan in January.

The battalion is responsible for the area surrounding the bases, which are the largest coalition installations in Helmand province.

YAVORIV, Ukraine -- Rapid Trident 2011, underway at the International Peacekeeping and Security Center here, is in full swing and 13 nations have been training and conducting airborne operations together since the exercise started July 25.

Rapid Trident 2011 is a joint training and exercise program designed to enhance interoperability among Ukraine, the U.S. and Partnership for Peace member nations. Having so many different languages and cultures training together adds a unique challenge to the training for the U.S. troops.

Sailors aboard USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41) conducted deck landing qualification (DLQ) training with Romanian navy pilots July 31-Aug. 1 as part of the bilateral exercise Summer Storm 2011.

The eight Romanian pilots, the only aviators in that country's navy, are members of "Black Sea Knights" and fly the IAR-330 Puma helicopter.

"There are over 400 pilots in Romania's air force," said Lt. Cmdr. Marius Metric, the Black Sea Knights commander. "Our naval aviation program is five years old and there are eight of us."

Specialized search dogs have become a new weapon in the war on improvised explosive devices, roving more than 100 meters in front of their handlers to find the deadly devices before they can be triggered.

SSD handlers with Military Police Support Company, III Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, III MEF worked with their dogs to perfect their detection abilities at Oura Wan beach at Camp Schwab July 26, clearing designated lanes of travel of explosive devices planted for training purposes, much as they would do on a combat deployment.

Marines with Marine Wing Communications Squadron 18 finished a five-day jungle survival course at the Jungle Warfare Training Center July 22.

“They (focused) on aspects of survival. Just basic steps that people in a survival situation would be confronted with,” said Lt. Col. Trent Blackson, commanding officer, JWTC, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force.

TWO MORE HEARINGS PLANNED
Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA) plans at least two more hearings on "Fast and Furious."
http://www.sofmag.com/issa-tells-nra-news-two-more-ff-hearings-planned

Video by American Forces Network Afghanistan