Military Resistance 9J4
“‘We Need To Bring Them Home’ He Said”
“Nobody Needs To Feel This Kind Of Pain”
Nampa Parents Praise Soldier Robert E. Dyas’ Service
September 23, 2011 by Mike Butts, Idaho Press-Tribune
NAMPA — The parents of U.S. Army Spc. Robert E. Dyas announced Thursday that their son was killed in combat in Afghanistan.
The military had not confirmed the death, but Melissa and Jerry Nowland held a press conference in their Nampa front yard to notify the public. Other family members cried as they stood behind the couple in front of their modest home with a U.S. flag at half mast and a makeshift memorial with pictures of Dyas.
According to his family, Dyas died Wednesday from wounds in the abdomen received during a small arms fire fight in the Kandahar Province.
Melissa Nowland called Dyas, 21, a “true hero” who made the ultimate sacrifice for his country.
“He is a son, he is a friend and he is a brother,” she said, “and he is going to be so missed, so missed.”
Dyas was a fire support specialist in the 34th Regiment, 1st Brigade, out of Fort Riley, Kansas. Melissa said Dyas’s civilian job was eliminated before he enlisted.
“He didn’t want to just sit around and wait and look for jobs,” she said. “He thought he wanted the security of the military.”
Dyas planned to go back to school and learn a trade when he got out of the military, Jerry Nowland said. He liked to bird hunt with his stepfather and said considered hunting his lifetime training. Jerry said what Dyas learned hunting helped him in Afghanistan.
Dyas had recently purchased a 1966 Pontiac LeMans, like the one his step father owns, on eBay. He told Jerry that the two could cruise together in their classic cars.
“That car’s going to be so special to us,” Jerry said.
Jerry also expressed his opinion that the soldiers still in Afghanistan should come home.
“We need to bring them home,” he said. “Nobody needs to feel this kind of pain.”
Melissa planned to travel to Dover, Del., Thursday for the return of Dyas’s remains.
Family members said they plan to set up foundation representing Dyas.
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IRAQ WAR REPORTS
Insurgents Attack Police Station
Oct. 3, 2011: Police station in al-Baghdadi west of Ramadi, Iraq, attacked by insurgents. (AP Photo)
AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS
Oklahoma City Soldier Killed In Afghanistan:
“The 12th Soldier From The Oklahoma National Guard 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team To Die In Combat Since July 29 And The Fifth This Month”
September 26, 2011 NewsOK
Another Oklahoma soldier has died while fighting in Afghanistan, the U.S. Department of Defense reported.
Spc. Francisco J. Briseno-Alvarez Jr., 27, of Oklahoma City, is the 12th soldier from the Oklahoma National Guard 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team to die in combat since July 29 and the fifth this month.
Briseno-Alvarez was killed Sunday in Laghman province when his unit was attacked with a roadside bomb, according to a Defense Department news release.
He was a member of the 1st Battalion, 179th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, based in Stillwater.
Three other soldiers also were injured in the attack, according to a news release from the Oklahoma National Guard.
“He died doing the right thing. He died serving and protecting his country,” said Briseno-Alvarez’s cousin, Juan Cerano.
“He was like the brother I never had. His family would come and visit us, or we would go over and visit them. We played soccer, tag, just the things that kids would do,” said Cerano, 30.
The two went to different schools and grew apart as they got older, but reconnected when they reached driving age, he said.
“It was like nothing had ever happened, like time had stood still. He’d come over, we’d watch movies or just hang out,” Cerano said.
It was not uncommon for the two to see each other several times a month before he was deployed, and text or speak on the phone when their schedules conflicted, he said.
“I’m really going to miss him. I only have four sisters. I don’t have an actual brother, so it’s hard to lose somebody like that.
“There’s always going to be part of him in our hearts,” Cerano said.
“I just remember him as always smiling,” said cousin Sarai Cerano, 21.
“He could lighten up a room. Just the sweetest, most caring guy ever. It’s devastating for our family.”
‘A bundle of sunshine’
Briseno-Alvarez grew up in Oklahoma City and graduated from U.S. Grant High School in 2003. Sarai Cerano said her cousin had worked as a delivery driver for a soda company before he was deployed to Afghanistan.
“I actually just saw him this summer when he was in town for a week,” Sarai Cerano said.
“He was a bundle of sunshine in every person’s path that he crossed. He just had a fire that could ignite anyone’s world,” she said.
Briseno-Alvarez is survived by his father, Javier Briseno; mother, Lurdes Alvarez, and two siblings, brother, Adrian Briseno, 24, and sister, Diana Briseno, 18.
Briseno-Alvarez joined the Oklahoma National Guard on Sept. 11, 2010, the Guard release states.
He attended advanced individual training to become a truck driver.
“My thoughts and prayers are with the Briseno-Alvarez family and those of our wounded heroes,” said Maj. Gen. Myles Deering, adjutant general for Oklahoma.
“Spc. Briseno-Alvarez answered the call to serve this great nation and help defend it. His loyalty and ultimate sacrifice for the sake of our country will never be forgotten.”
Briseno-Alvarez previously served with the 700th Brigade Support Battalion, based in Stillwater.
The Oklahoma National Guard’s 45th Infantry Brigade began moving about 2,200 troops into Afghanistan in mid-June for a nine-month deployment.
The Oklahoma Guard took over operational duties in Afghanistan in mid-July.
Ryan Cook: ‘He Was Always There For Me. He Always Had My Back’
Ryan James Cook
September 22, 2011 By Wendy Victora, Daily News
When Chris Brown got the call early Monday morning telling him that his friend Ryan Cook had been killed in Afghanistan, he was sure there was a mistake.
In Brown’s mind, Cook was invincible.
“It couldn’t have been him,” Brown remembers thinking. “He’s huge. There’s no way it could be Ryan. Not only was he strong and knew the ways of the world, but he was lucky.”
Late Wednesday, the Department of Defense officially announced the news that his family members had shared a day earlier.
Cook, who was 29, died Sunday of injuries after insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device in Takhar province, Afghanistan.
He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division out of Fort Wainwright, Alaska.
His family has lived in Fort Walton Beach for more than 20 years. Ryan went to Kenwood Elementary, Pryor Middle School and Choctawhatchee High School.
His mom, Kathleen Silva, said Thursday that they are hoping Ryan’s remains will be flown home to Eglin Air Force Base early next week. “I know when and where the service will be and where he’ll be buried, but we don’t have a time because they haven’t quite cemented when he will be flown in,” she said.
Emerald Coast Funeral Home is handling the arrangements. Kathleen said Ryan had asked to be buried with his grandfather at Barrancas National Cemetery in Pensacola, but was told there was not enough room in that plot.
“He would have to be buried far away from his grandfather,” said Kathleen, who added that she had decided to bury him at Beal Memorial Cemetery.
“I’ll have myself and my husband on either side of him one day,” she said.
Brown is just one of many friends struggling to process Ryan’s death.
Justin Reese, who became friends with Ryan in the 2nd grade, said he believed Ryan’s relationship with his grandfather led to him joining the Army.
“His grandfather always wanted him to do something with his life,” Reese said. “Ryan, he kind of dragged his feet until his grandfather passed away. He joined shortly after.”
Reese, who is in the Air Force, said he and Ryan remained close over the years. The last time they spoke was right before Ryan deployed to Afghanistan. “He’s pretty driven and determined and he was all about pride and honor,” Reese said. “He’d never let anyone down.”
That was the consensus among his grieving friends – Ryan was someone you could count on.
“He was always there for me,” said Dustin Cahill. “He always had my back.”
Cahill agreed that his friend had seemed “unstoppable” and that he never believed anything could kill him.
“When he joined the military, I was scared for him,” he said. “I understood why and the fact that he wanted to make a difference and when I saw that he was absolutely set on it, I supported him.”
News of Ryan’s death has shaken him deeply.
“I haven’t been able to sleep,” he said. “He was kind of like a big brother to me. We’re taking it day by day.”
Darlington Soldier Killed In Afghanistan, Remembered As ‘Fearless,’ ‘Fun-Loving’
September 23, 2011 By DEE J. HALL, Madison.com
It wasn’t enough for Jakob Roelli to join the Army, putting college and dreams of law school on hold. He wanted to be in the Special Forces, whose members undergo the most grueling training and carry out some of the most dangerous missions.
“When Jake decided to join the Army, he fully embraced all aspects of what it meant to be a soldier,” said his former girlfriend, Amy Siegenthaler, a UW-Madison senior. “His summer before basic training, you could find him running around Darlington in his Army boots and a backpack full of rocks or bricks.
“When he found out his scores were high enough for him to be in Special Forces, he was beyond happy. He wanted to be right in the middle of all the action. He was a fearless man who would take on any challenge.”
Earlier this week, that dream ended when the 24-year-old Army specialist was killed in Afghanistan. His father and brother traveled Thursday to Dover Air Force Base to bring Roelli’s remains home to Wisconsin. An Army spokeswoman said details of his death were not yet being released.
Jakob Roelli grew up on a farm outside of Darlington and graduated from Darlington High School in 2006. He played football, ran cross country, wrestled, was on the forensics team, acted in school plays and musicals, including Beauty and the Beast and The Sting, and enjoyed pastimes including sliding down the moss-covered dam at Ludden Lake in Mineral Point.
“He was a young man who was not afraid to try new things,” Principal Doug McArthur said, recalling Roelli as “really a fun-loving guy.”
Roelli was a four-year member of the school’s Odyssey of the Mind team, in which students compete in creative problem-solving exercises. The Darlington team won the state competition in its division in 2006, Roelli’s senior year, McArthur said.
Roelli spent a year at UW-Oshkosh but traded in his books to join the Green Berets.
“He would definitely be the one to jump in front of a bullet for anyone else,” said Carly Miehe of Dubuque, whose father was Roelli’s cross-country coach. “He loved his family and God and he loved serving his country.”
Asked to describe his son, Richard Roelli said, “He was a better man than I’ll ever be.”
Funeral arrangements for Roelli are pending at Erickson Funeral Home in Darlington.
McArthur said he believes Roelli is the first Darlington soldier since Vietnam to die in the line of duty.
POLITICIANS CAN’T BE COUNTED ON TO HALT THE BLOODSHED
THE TROOPS HAVE THE POWER TO STOP THE WARS
American Canyon Soldier Killed In Afghanistan
Spc. Garrett Fan was on his first deployment. Photo: Courtesy family
September 30, 2011 Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer
AMERICAN CANYON --
Garrett Fant knew since he was a young boy that he wanted to be a soldier. He enlisted in the Army as soon as he was old enough, dismissing pleas from his brother to join him in the Navy.
Fant, 21, of American Canyon, was killed Monday in combat in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said Thursday.
The Army specialist died in Helmand province after being wounded by an improvised explosive device.
Fant was an indirect fire infantryman who was on his first deployment. His awards included the combat infantryman’s badge, NATO medal, Afghanistan campaign medal with one campaign star and the Army service ribbon.
On his Facebook page, Fant proudly proclaimed that he was a “grunt.”
“What can I say? God loves the infantry!” he wrote.
“He always wanted to be in the service,” said his uncle, Chip Towle, 49, of South Lake Tahoe. “From a very little age, he just wanted to go into the Army.”
Towle said he had chatted online with his nephew hours before he was killed. Towle asked if Fant would be home in time for Christmas, and his nephew replied, “I doubt it. I hope to make it home in February.”
Fant’s brother, James Keough, 27, said he had tried without success to get his brother to join him in the Navy. Keough is an airman serving in San Diego.
“He knew the sacrifices involved (in joining the Army), and it takes a pretty strong individual to do it anyway,” Keough said.
Fant was assigned to the 4th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, in Fort Riley, Kan.
While off-duty, Fant enjoyed “hanging around with friends and joking around,” his brother said. “He was a fun-loving, friendly person. He had a personality that all were attracted to.”
Fant’s mother, Julia Towle Farrell, said her son had hoped to earn a teaching credential after leaving the Army and to teach history at South Tahoe High School, his alma mater.
“His thought was that high school was the last stop for kids, and he wanted to influence people,” Farrell said.
She said her son always tried to call her whenever there was news about U.S. casualties in Afghanistan.
“Don’t worry, mom, I’m going to be fine,” Fant would say.
“He would always try to make me feel better about it, to make it less stressful,” Farrell said. “He always tried to protect me from the dangers of being over there.”
Through tears, she said, “He’s a hero. He was just someone that if you were his family or his friends - or his country - he gave you his all and loved you with everything.”
Soldier Dominic Seriously Injured In Afghan Blast
6 October 2011 Clitheroe Advertiser.co.uk
A 21-YEAR-OLD Clitheroe soldier is in hospital after sustaining serious injuries in a blast in Afghanistan.
It is believed Dominic Giles only flew out to the war-torn country less than a month ago to serve with the Royal Engineers and was on patrol when he was caught in the explosion. He suffered serious injuries to his legs.
Dominic’s parents were too distressed to speak to The Clitheroe Advertiser and Times. It is understood Dominic is being treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham.
Prior to joining the Army, Dominic was extremely popular during his school years at Ribblesdale High School Technology College.
Dominic was also a keen supporter of Sabden FC and often attended the team’s practice sessions and games.
The Pine-Nut Truce:
“‘We Will Not Shoot For 15 Days So The People Can Collect Pine Cones,’ The Voice Said, According To The Translated Transcript”
“Throughout This Time, Not A Single Shot Was Fired At Observation Post Twins”
“The Observation Post Is Kept Alive By Helicopters, Which Bring The Soldiers’ Supplies”
Throughout the summer, Taliban and Haqqani fighters fired on this observation post regularly, hitting it with 82-millimeter mortar rounds and 107-millimeter rockets, and sometimes with machine-gun or rifle fire, too.
October 6, 2011 By C. J. CHIVERS, New York Times [Excerpts]
OBSERVATION POST TWINS, Afghanistan — When an 82-millimeter mortar round slammed onto a bunker at this mountaintop post last week, its explosion signaled more than the start of another attack on an American position overlooking an arc of hostile Afghan villages.
It marked the end of a particular harvest.
In eastern Paktika Province, near the border with Pakistan, September and early October are pine-nut season. Much of the able-bodied population in rural villages is busy gathering cones from forests on mountain slopes.
But several slopes that yield rich harvests face American military positions, which presents an annual problem: pine-cone pickers risk being caught between two warring sides.
This year, as villagers worked the slopes in front of this new American-Afghan outpost, the risks to civilians were reduced in a starkly practical way — the Taliban and Haqqani fighters declared a unilateral cease-fire, American officers say.
The “pine-nut truce,” as it became known among soldiers who found an unexpected respite from the exhausting grind of daily contact, underscored a pair of simple facts: Waging war requires labor, and when local labor is busy with other work, fighting can subside.