Forces Target Insurgents in Southeastern Afghanistan

Forces Target Insurgents in Southeastern Afghanistan


Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases



WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2010 - Coalition and Afghan forces continued their assault on the insurgency in southeastern Afghanistan yesterday, killing nearly two dozen enemy fighters and capturing at least one Taliban leader, military officials reported.



The most widespread operation occurred in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province, where a large group of insurgents fired with small arms and machine guns on a coalition air weapons team. The team returned fire with rockets and the aircraft's 30 mm cannon, killing more than 20 insurgents.



Initial operational reports indicated that no civilian casualties resulted from the engagement, officials said.



Afghan and coalition forces on the ground later found 20 roadside bombs and four machine guns at the scene, and confiscated a vehicle and 17 motorcycles.



In a separate operation in Kandahar's Zharay district, dismounted combined patrol found a large stockpile of anti-aircraft rounds, including six mortar rounds and 50 cases that each contained 200 machine-gun rounds.



In other operations yesterday:



-- Coalition forces conducted a precision air strike on a vehicle believed to be carrying a senior Taliban leader who plans attacks against Afghan and coalition forces, moves foreign fighters in Afghanistan, and is believed to harbor high-level Taliban leaders. Intelligence sources tracked the senior leader to the vehicle carrying a heavy anti-aircraft gun in a remote area of Zabul province's Shah Joy district. After verifying insurgent activity and ensuring no civilians were present, coalition forces destroyed the vehicle, killing its two occupants. International Security Assistance Force officials said they're gathering information to confirm the targeted man was killed.



-- A combined force captured a Taliban leader who commands fighters involved in bombing attacks, ambushes and enemy weapons and ammunition trafficking during an overnight operation in Paktika province. He is the seventh insurgent leader captured or killed in Paktika province this month, officials said. Intelligence reports led the force to a compound in the Yahya Khel district, where they identified and detained the targeted man and an associate. During the operation, the force shot and killed several insurgents who maneuvered toward them with machine guns and automatic weapons. The force found and destroyed multiple automatic weapons, grenades, anti-personnel mines, pressure-plate bombs, detonation wire and rocket-propelled grenades with launchers.



-- A senior Taliban leader surrendered to a combined force of Afghan special operations forces and border police in Paktia province's Dand Patan district. Assisted by U.S. Special Forces soldiers, the Afghan team received information that a known Taliban senior leader was in a store. The Afghan soldiers coordinated with the local border police chief, who sent an officer to the store to confirm the leader's presence. The combined force secured the store's perimeter, and the Taliban leader surrendered.



In other news from Afghanistan, ISAF officials confirmed the Oct. 26 capture of a Taliban leader who operated in Zabul province's Qalat district during an intelligence-driven operation in the province's Shah Joy district. The force also detained a suspected associate for further questioning.



Afghan and coalition forces protect any women and children present during their operations, officials said.

CBP Detects Wanted Burglar at Isla Grande Wanted Criminal Arrested Arrived from St. Thomas

San Juan, Puerto Rico - US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers arrested late yesterday a wanted burglar who arrived at Isla Grande Airport in San Juan.

Salvador Quinones was a passenger on Seaborne Airlines flight 1297 from St. Thomas, USVI.

Computer systems alerted the CBP Officer of a match to a National Crime Information Center (NCIC) wanted person record for “Burglary to an Unoccupied Dwelling and Grand Theft” from the state of Florida.

“CBP officers are always vigilant of all wanted individuals who try to move freely, trying to elude detection,” said Marcelino Borges, Director of Field Operations for Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands.

CBP transferred custody of Mr. Quinones to the Puerto Rico Department of Justice extradition office for extradition to Florida.

The Isla Grande Airport, is a small airport in the Miramar ward of San Juan, Puerto Rico. It overlooks the San Juan Bay and is adjacent to the new Puerto Rico Convention Center and the Pan American Cruise Ship Terminal. Isla Grande was Puerto Rico's main international airport until 1954, when the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport was built.

Isla Grande was renamed in honor of United States Air Force Major Fernando Luis Ribas-Dominicci, an F-111 pilot who was killed in action during Operation El Dorado Canyon; the 1986 airstrike of Libya.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

Army Logistics Leaders Review Progress, Way Ahead

Army Logistics Leaders Review Progress, Way Ahead By Karen Parrish  American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2010 - A panel of senior Army logisticians this week praised advances they've seen in the field while stressing the need to retrain the force in military property management. The panel was part of the Association of the U.S. Army's annual meeting here. Lt. Gen. Mitchell H. Stevenson, Army deputy chief of staff for logistics, said that while Army logisticians have done tremendous work supporting the fight in Iraq and Afghanistan, challenges remain in preparing the force for full-spectrum operations. Stevenson said an after-action review following successful relief operations in Haiti revealed areas needing attention. "What we learned is we have gotten rusty in some of our skills," he said. "When you deploy today to Iraq or Afghanistan, you know a year ahead of time. The whole institution is helping push you out the door. We know how to deploy forces." But in contingency operations such as disaster relief efforts, he said, equipment that troops are used to "falling in on" in Iraq or Afghanistan has to be taken along. The force is now accustomed to having equipment pre-positioned, the general noted, and must retrain on how to account for and maintain equipment on a unit basis. "We have forgotten some of our basics," Stevenson said. "We've got to get back to that." Stevenson said the force now is accustomed to counterinsurgency operations, and needs to prepare logistically for full-spectrum missions. "We've got to keep remembering that this war we've been involved in since 2001 is a special kind of war," he said. "It's relatively secure. ... We can bring contractors in to support us. We've got to keep reminding ourselves of that so we don't design an Army, and an Army logistics system, that's reliant on a benign environment where you operate with relative impunity. "If we get into a full-up, heavy fight with somebody else ... we're not going to have the luxury of secure supply lines and contractors who can go where and when they please," he added. Lt. Gen. James H. Pillsbury, Army Materiel Command's deputy commanding general, said that as the Army looks ahead to resetting the force following the current conflicts, leaders must stress property accountability. "That's a skill that we're going to have to bring back to our Army," he said, noting that Gen. George W. Casey Jr., Army chief of staff, has emphasized the need for the service's leaders to get back into a garrison leadership role. "We have been out of that, because we've been deployed so much," Pillsbury said. "Part of garrison leadership is property accountability, and getting that culture back, ingrained in our soldiers." Lt. Gen. William N. Phillips, principal military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, said contracted security, vehicle maintenance and life-support services such as food, housing and utilities have been crucial to success in the current conflicts and have underscored the important role Army contracting officers play. "You can never separate contracting from logistics," he said. "It has to be linked." Contracting, logistics and combat specialists have to integrate planning, he said, or "bad things are going to happen." "You waste taxpayer dollars, and at the end of the day a soldier needs something, and you don't give it to them. You have to be linked," he said. "That contracting officer has to sit with that battalion commander or that [logistics officer] and understand what they're doing. That is critical – operationalizing how we execute contracts is critical." Phillips said in response to Casey's request for training to develop leaders' understanding of contracting processes, the Army is establishing a contracting course for general officers and senior civilians. "It's going to be a short course dedicated to contracting, so our senior leaders across the Army that manage contracts and deal with them every day can better understand how contracts are executed," he said. Brig. Gen. Jack O'Connor, director of logistics for 3rd Army, was the final panel member to speak. As U.S. Central Command's Army component, 3rd Army manages day-to-day operations and planning for Centcom land forces. O'Connor said the logistics challenge involved in reducing U.S. forces in Iraq while surging troops to Afghanistan and supplying coalition partners there had been phenomenal. "You can only imagine the complexity of what's going on out there," he said. U.S. bases in Iraq have been reduced from 412 to 90, forces have dropped from 136,000 to 52,000, and 58 percent of equipment on the battlefield has been withdrawn, he said. Meanwhile, 30,000 troops have been added in Afghanistan, and equipment there essentially has doubled. "We did that in under a year," O'Connor said. "That's what we're there for -- to work through the complexity, the synchronization and integration. That's what logisticians do every day." The effort involved transferring not only people and equipment, but also the means to sustain them, he noted. That means contracts for security, vehicle maintenance, housing, food and utilities in a combat environment. "Five years ago when I was in Iraq laying in a lot of these major contracts, I thought I'd never see that again," he said. "Five years later, they all came due, and we had to go out there and resize, reshape, rescope all these contracts. "We are doing things today that we never thought we would be able to do with the infrastructure and the tools that were in our kit bag," O'Connor continued. "Logisticians today are figuring out new ways to do business." As the Army meets current missions and resets the force for future missions, he said, logisticians have to learn from each other as they prepare to effectively meet future acquisition, maintenance, distribution and contracting needs. "Supporting mission, people, teamwork," he said. "We've got to be ready. ... We know the call is coming. It's right around the corner. We'll get this one just about right, and a new complexity will hit us right between the eyes. We're going to be moving out to the next objective."

Related Sites:  Office of the Army Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics  Army Materiel Command  Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology  3rd Army

U. S. Customs and Border Protection Announces Change in Port of Entry Hours of Operation

U. S. Customs and Border Protection Announces Change in Port of Entry Hours of Operation



Champlain, N.Y. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in conjunction with Canadian Border Services Agency, wish to inform the public that the Border Inspection Stations at Churubusco, New York-Franklin Center, Quebec and Cannons Corners, New York-Cannons Corners, Quebec, will revise their hours of operation in accordance with the end of the summer schedule.

Effective Nov. 1, the new business hours of operation at these facilities will be 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., until April 30. Please contact the Trout River Port of Entry at (518) 483-0821 with any questions.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

Calexico CBP Officers Prevent More Than $850,000 Worthof Cocaine From Entering U.S.

Calexico CBP Officers Prevent More Than $850,000 Worthof Cocaine From Entering U.S.

Calexico, Calif. - U. S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at the Calexico West Port of Entry prevented more than 85 pounds of cocaine with an estimated value of more than $853,000 from entering the United States in two separate occasions Wednesday.

	Packages of cocaine were discovered concealed in the spare tire of a black 2006 Toyota Corolla driven by a 28-year-old female Mexican citizen.

At approximately 2:50 p.m., a 28-year-old female Mexican citizen, driving a black 2006 Toyota Corolla, applied for admission into the U.S. The CBP officer referred the car and driver for a more intensive inspection after a narcotic detector dog alerted to the interior of the vehicle. CBP officers found a total of 15 packages containing cocaine concealed in all four doors, inside the spare tire, and inside the air intake compartment under the hood of the vehicle. The cocaine weighed almost 34 pounds, with an estimated street value of $305,600.

At approximately 7:25 p.m., CBP officers referred a 31-year-old male U.S. citizen from Bishop, Calif., driving a blue 2001 Ford Expedition for further inspection. After a narcotic detector dog alerted to the gas tank area of the vehicle, CBP officers removed the gas tank and discovered a non-factory compartment containing 20 packages of cocaine. The cocaine weighed almost 52 pounds, with an estimated street value of $468,000.

“The hard work of these CBP officers pays off day after day,” said Calexico Port Director Billy Whitford. “Significant seizures such as these are the direct result of their dedication and commitment to stopping the flow of dangerous narcotics from entering the U.S.”

In both incidents the narcotics and vehicles were seized by CBP and the drivers were arrested and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for prosecution.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

Agents Seize More than 1,000 Pounds of Dope

Agents Seize More than 1,000 Pounds of Dope

Los Ebanos, Texas - U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Rio Grande City Station seized more than 1,000 pounds of marijuana in two separate incidents that occurred within a few hours of each other.

	Rio Grande City Station Border Patrol agents load bundles of marijuana into a waiting service vehicle following a seizure Thursday.

The most notable seizure occurred early this morning when agents saw a white Chevrolet Impala being loaded with bundles. As the vehicle sped north away from the banks of the Rio Grande, agents deployed a tire deflation device. Although the vehicle’s tires were deflated, the driver continued traveling north for a short distance. The agents found the vehicle abandoned, along with its cargo of more than 600 pounds of marijuana.

In the second seizure agents noticed several people, carrying bundles, emerge from the brush near the river late last night. When the agents identified themselves the smugglers dropped their load and fled back into the brush, leaving behind more than 400 pounds of marijuana.

The marijuana from the two seizures has an estimated value of more than $800,000 and was turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

To report suspicious activity, call the Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol Sector’s toll-free telephone number at (800) 863-9382.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

Air Force School Focuses on Cybersecurity

Air Force School Focuses on Cybersecurity

By Ian Graham
Emerging Media, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2010 - "The wars of the future will be fought in the cyber domain" sounds like a bad movie tagline from 20 years ago, but it's becoming truer by the day, and the Air Force is readying troops for that battle.
During an Oct. 27 "DOD Live" bloggers roundtable, Air Force Brig. Gen. Walter D. Givhan, commandant of the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, discussed the importance of cybersecurity and the newest class of students graduating from the AFIT Center for Cyberspace Research.
AFIT itself has been in existence since 1919, researching and expanding the technology available to the U.S. military, beginning with flight.
"Even at that time, there was a new technology -- flight, the ability to fly," Givhan said. "Part of what had to be core to us in dealing with this new technology was education -- education and research -- and that we couldn't just depend upon others, but it had to be part of what we were doing, directly connected to us."
Now, Givhan said, AFIT has added graduate-level cybersecurity education and research to its academic offerings. Some training and research has been going on already, since the advent of computer networking on a large scale, but now AFIT offers master's degrees and doctorates in cyber fields.
"What we are doing is truly continuing education -- it's not training," he said. "We're educating [students] on the capabilities, with a little bit of hands-on work as well on particular technology and capabilities within that technology. But it's not like we're giving them a specific cyberweapon and teaching them how to fire or use that specific cyberweapon."
The two main courses, Cyber 200 and Cyber 300, give students two slightly different looks at cyber operations, but cover the same main topics: the technology, the policy, the doctrine and the law as they relate to the cyber domain.
Cyber 200 is intended for field grade officers and some noncommissioned officers with six to eight years of service and some experience in the cyber domain. In the three-week course, Givhan said, students focus on tactical and operational issues relevant to what they may face in their line of work.
The more advanced two-week 300 course, designed for higher-ranking officers with 12 or more years of total service with at least six of those years working with cyber issues, focuses on broader concepts, the general said.
"These are the folks who are actually going to be helping make this happen in terms of what the joint force commander needs and how to integrate our cyber capabilities into his plan and to accomplish his objectives," Givhan said.
The first class of Cyber 200 and Cyber 300 students graduated yesterday.
The venture is exciting, Givhan said, because it involves new technology. They're testing limits, he added, rather than working within "safe" parameters. Thanks to the growth of computer networking jobs in the private sector, he noted, the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard can be involved closely as well.
"They're actually involved in this on the outside, in civilian jobs having to do with cyber," he said.
The field's growth in the private sector also helps to bring in recruits who have worked for civilian companies in network administration or security. AFIT has begun some programs for ROTC cadets, Givhan said, adding that he hopes those will expand as people learn more about the importance of cybersecurity and as the Air Force can teach more about it.
"This is a conversation. ... This is not a one-way sort of delivering lectures and things, and people are just soaking it up," the general said. "This is all so new and exciting and rapidly changing.
"We depend upon the participation of everyone who's part of the class and the instructors," he continued, "and we all learn from each other in this. And it's changing so fast that the iterative process that we use to reinforce what we're doing ... is going to change every time we give it."
 

Biographies:
Air Force Brig. Gen. Walter D. Givhan
Related Sites:
Air Force Institute of Technology
"DOD Live" Bloggers Roundtable
Special Report: Cybersecurity

Related Articles:
Special

NORAD, USNORTHCOM hosts TAG conference

By Staff Sgt. Thomas J. Doscher
NORAD and USNORTHCOM Public Affairs
Oct. 8, 2010

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. – In an effort to foster relationships and further collaboration, the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command hosted adjutants general from 54 U.S. states and territories in the NORAD and USNORTHCOM and National Guard Bureau Senior Leader Conference Oct. 3 – 5.

The conference, held at the Antlers Hilton in Colorado Springs and Peterson AFB, focused on improving understanding between the different organizations as well as cooperative efforts such as Defense Support of Civil Authorities and homeland defense.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Navy Adm. James Winnefeld, North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command commander, makes his opening remarks to the NORAD and USNORTHCOM and National Guard Bureau Senior Leader Conference at the Antlers Hilton in Colorado Springs Oct. 4. The conference focused on improving understanding between the different organizations as well as cooperative efforts such as Defense Support of Civil Authorities and homeland defense. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Thomas J. Doscher)

Although the National Guard Bureau chief meets with the TAGs four to six times a year, this is the first time that NORAD and USNORTHCOM have been involved in the meeting.

Gen. Craig McKinley, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, called the commands’ involvement in the conference a historic event.

“It’s the first time the adjutants general of the states, territories and district have been in Colorado Springs to hear the commander of U.S. Northern Command and talk about the things we have in common and the things we need to work on,” McKinley said. “We are bringing our nation, our states, territories and district much closer by doing this.”

Along with the state and territorial TAGs, 15 NGB senior leaders, including Lt. Gen. Harry Wyatt, Director of the Air National Guard and Maj. Gen. Raymond Carpenter, acting director of the Army National Guard were in attendance. Dr. Paul Stockton, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Americas’ Security Affairs, also addressed the TAGs, focusing on unresolved challenges in terror prevention.

“The threat is diversifying,” Stockton said. “Yes, Osama bin Laden and the franchisees would love to be able to carry out another large, complex attack for which planning- preparations - would be extensive. We’re doing what we can to disrupt their ability to prepare for such a large-scale attack, and in part because of our success in doing so, we need to prepare for other kinds of attacks.”

One of the risks Stockton spoke on and urged preparation for was that of small, commando-like attacks in urban centers like those that took place in Mumbai, India, in November 2008. He offered the TAGs a chilling scenario they may one day be faced with.

“One of your cities has been attacked by a commando team,” he told them. “There’s credible evidence that a city in a neighboring state is going to be attacked. What does that look like, and above all what does that look like for the role of the National Guard in prevention and the demands on the Department of Defense as a whole for support to civil authorities?”

McKinley said he’d like to see the two commands participate in future conferences and that the cooperation and trust built between the commands and the states could pay huge dividends in the long run.

“This isn’t a one-time deal,” he said. “We need to continue to foster good relations, communications, build trust, because the American public deserves that.”