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RICHMOND, Va. The first groups of the Virginia National Guards 329th Regional Support Group Headquarters returned to Virginia June 17 after supporting Operation Inherent Resolve at multiple locations overseas Oct. 7 to June 6.

Members of the 329th provided mission command and base life support to Al Asad Air Base, Erbil Air Base and the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center in Iraq, and to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.

There are lots of stats associated with this mission like thousands of troops supported, tons of supplies and material moved, millions of dollars of projects executed, numbers of Combat Action Badges or awards earned, but the number Im most proud of is actually zero, said Col. Todd Pegg, commander of the 329th RSG.

The 329th had zero Purple Hearts, breaking the trend of our predecessor units, in part due to our increased focus and efforts on improving base defenses and hardening force protection measures, he said. Beyond keeping our own folks safe, the lasting improvements the Jamestown team made will serve countless U.S. and coalition troops well in the future.

The 329th RSG command team was stationed at Al Asad Air Base and provided base command and base operating support-integrator operations. BOS-I is the cell that coordinates and secures all base life support functions and land use, including food, water, fuel, military and office supplies, new construction, equipment and personnel movement. The command team was transferred to Camp Arifjan from Nov. 23 to June 6 while continuing to provide BOS-I support to Al Asad Air Base.

The units mission at Erbil Air Base was to support the installation commander by providing BOS-I operations.

At Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center, the unit provided a commandant cell for BOS-I operations to the military entities on installation.

The units mission in Camp Arifjan was to provide a commandant cell that supported the Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve staff. The 329th RSG also provided a Soldier to the CJTF-OIR to serve as their sexual assault response coordinator.

Collectively, the 329th RSGs missions included commanding assigned or attached units, supporting units and personnel as directed, providing contract requirements definition and oversight, determining base camp support requirements, supporting a 24/7 base defense operations center and overseeing base camp management and operations.

The 329th RSG excelled in this complex, non-doctrinal mission, Pegg said. From numerous indirect fire and unmanned aerial system attacks at the bases in Iraq to the complexities associated with operations in the interagency environment of Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center and the multifunctional support to the CJTF-OIR staff in Camp Arifjan, the 329th RSG provided outstanding leadership, achieving immeasurable results to the bases they led and supported.

The 329th RSG responded to multiple indirect fire and unmanned aerial system attacks, Pegg said. The 329th RSG staff focused on integrating all the key entities from initiation of the attack through post-attack recovery.

The leadership and strong abilities in process improvement were critical to the quick response to these attacks, he said.

Pegg said that through tenant communication, solid relationships, and diligent staff work, Al Asad Air Base, Erbil Air Base and Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center all improved the personnel accountability process.

The quick account enabled the base commanders to focus on battle damage assessment and initiating repair plans based on the assessment, he said.

The logistics section at Al Asad Air Base also played a vital role in the recovery and safeguarding of an Improvised Multiple Rocket Launch System, Pegg said.

The mission began in the middle of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.

Pegg said through a team effort of the 329th RSG, medical professionals, and unit leadership, the average vaccination rate at the four locations was over 99%. That enabled base commanders to lift restrictions on masks, open dining facilities and other services on the bases.

The commandant cell at Camp Arifjan served as the CJTF-OIR Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, providing administrative, operations, logistics and communications support to CJTF-OIR staff and coalition forces.

The Camp Arifjan Commandant Cell supported the planning and execution of the relief in place of Task Force III. They also managed the base camp management cell BOS-I sync, with the 329th commander serving as the chair for the weekly syncs.

Lastly, with the relocation of the 329th commander to Camp Arifjan, the commandant cell served as the RSG Headquarters, directing operations for the subordinate detachments at Al Asad Air Base, Erbil Air Base and Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center.

The commandant cell at Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center served as the direct liaison between the Department of State and CJTF-OIR. They were responsible for the accountability of all Department of Defense operations and personnel, including DoD military and civilians and coalition forces.

The commandant cell was the direct line of communication between the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center DoS management, the Regional Security Office and CJTF. As the CJTF representative for all matters involving CJTF personnel, equipment, and logistics, the commandant cell facilitated the action of all DoD requests on the installation.

The Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center team vastly improved mission command by implementing a tactical operations center environment within the commandant cell to receive, corroborate and disseminate mission-critical information to the DoS Sully Operations Center and all DoD and coalition force partners, Pegg said.

They also worked with the DoS Financial Management Office, facilities and contracting to oversee $113 million of contracts within Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center.

The commandant cell managed, coordinated, and facilitated the force protection improvements of the only Role 3 Hospital in Iraq or Syria and the improved force protection of the medical evacuation aviation tactical operations center and on-shift flight crew sleeping quarters.

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Virginia Guard Returns From Federal Active Duty in Iraq, Kuwait - United States Army

While most of us will celebrate Independence Day weekend with food and fun, lets not forget some of the people with Wisconsin ties who made these freedoms possible.

Most (22) were awarded to soldiers who fought in the Civil War especially the Iron Brigade, (the 7th Infantry along with members of the 6th and 2nd) for its sacrifices at Gettysburg that helped preserve the Union on July 1-3, 1863. Medal of Honor recipients spanned US history through the Vietnam War. A special congressional medal was also awarded to Milwaukees own Gen. Billy Mitchell, an aviation pioneer and airport namesake.

General Arthur MacArthur, Jr. is the father of five-star General Douglas MacArthur. The pair became the first father and son to both receive the Medal of Honor. (And it has only happened once since, with former President Theodore Roosevelt and his son, Theodore, Jr., who commanded troops at Utah Beach on D-Day.)

The elder MacArthur started his military career in Milwaukee, but his most famous moment happened during the Civil War Battle of Missionary Ridge in Tennessee, when the 18-year-old planted the regimental flag on top of a hill and shouted On Wisconsin. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for inspiring his fellow Union soldiers with that action and went on to serve in the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars.

General Robert Bruce McCoy was a National Guardsman during both the Spanish American War and World War I. After his first deployment, McCoy bought some land in Wisconsin to start training other soldiers. When he died in 1926, the military named the base after him.

Since then, Fort McCoy has been in constant use, and currently trains more than 100,000 members of the military every year. The 181st Infantry Brigade, the division responsible for training National Guard troops involved with the Global War on Terror, is the largest unit stationed at the fort.

Navy corpsman and field medic John Doc Bradley jumped in to help several Marines hoist the first American flag above the black sand and volcanic ash on the tiny island of Mt. Suribachi in February 1945.

Bradley was the last surviving flag-raiser when he passed away in 1994. His son John wrote the best-selling book Flags of Our Fathers in 2000.

He was born in the Antigo area, grew up in Appleton, and returned to Antigo after the war, where he raised his eight children and started a business.

After Bradleys passing, confusion about the men in Joe Rosenthals famous photograph was finally resolved. Bradley had actually been photographed by Lou Lowery while raising the first flag, but commanders wanted a larger flag planted later that day. Bradley was misidentified as being part of the second flag-raising.

Bradley was among 110,000 Americans who fought for control of the small but vital island and he was one of some 20,000 who were wounded in a campaign that resulted in 6,800 American deaths. Bradley was awarded the Navy Cross and the Purple Heart.

Appletons Russell Klika dropped out of high school in the late 1970s and joined the Marines when he was 17. On a whim, he bought a 35mm camera and taught himself how to use it.

After working as a civilian newspaper photographer and documenting the 1992 Los Angeles riots, Klika rejoined the military and, camera in hand, traveled to Iraq as a non-commissioned officer. His photographs have been featured in Time, Newsweek, and The New York Times. In 2007, Klika was named the Military Photographer of the Year.

The withdrawal of most American soldiers from Afghanistan ended the countrys longest war. But the post-traumatic stress and pain of losing friends or family members in the past is still very real within the military community.

Here are several organizations the Wisconsin Veterans Museum supports that benefit US troops, veterans, and their families:

Wisconsin Veterans Foundation

Wounded Warrior Project

Soldiers Angels

Veteran Tickets Foundation

Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America

Link:
From Gettysburg to Iwo Jima to IraqWisconsin Soldiers Played a Role in Keeping America Free - UpNorthNews

Childhood and Adolescence

Mohioddin Zehni was born in 1963 in the city of Miandoab in the province of West Azerbaijan. His father was a Bahai and his mother a Muslim but he grew up according to the teachings of the Bahai faith.

Mohioddin was the second child of the family. He studied until the third year of middle school but then dropped out to work as his family was poor. He was known for his kindness; when Mohioddin saw his father work dawn to dusk, he decided to help by joining him to work the farm. He spent his adolescence working while many others of his age could play and half fun.

Answering the Draft

In the early 1980s, when the war between Iran and Iraq was at its height, Mohioddin decided to answer the draft and join the Iranian army. Some members of his family asked him to wait for the war to cool but he was determined to serve his country as a soldier. His birth certificate had been lost, which he could have used as an excuse to delay going into military service, but he quickly obtained a duplicate and presented himself to the conscription organization.

Mohioddin started his military service in the winter or the spring of 1984. He was trained at Ajabshir Recruit Training Centre 03 in East Azerbaijan province. The Revolutionary Guards and the Revolutionary Committees refused to accept to train the Bahais and Bahai conscripts were sent to the regular armys training centers.

After his training was complete, Mohioddin served a few months in Ahvaz, capital of Khuzestan province. He then served two months in Tehran and was then sent to Piranshahr in the province of West Azerbaijan.

Martyrdom

On August 19, 1986, Mohioddin had only 18 days left before being discharged. His service ought to have ended two months earlier but, because of the ongoing war, the government had ordered that all conscripts must serve an extra two months.

A group of soldiers in a trench in the mountains around Piranshahr needed provisions on that day. They were supposed to travel to the army base in Piranshahrs village of Davoud Abad but instead Mohioddin volunteered to get the provisions for the unit.

He left Davoud Abad in a damaged IFA truck and, on the mountainous road to the trench, the brakes failed and the truck tumbled down the mountainside. Mohioddin was killed he was 23 years old.

Martyrdom Denied

Mohioddin was the first Bahai martyr in the city of Miandoab and he was buried next to other war casualties in the city. The Martyrs Foundation initially treated his family the same as it treated other families of war martyrs: the familys Bahai faith was not an issue. But Mohioddins name was removed from the Martyrs Foundation list of martyrs, a few years later, because of his Bahai faith.

Thirty years after Mohioddins death, the Martyrs Foundation rejected his mothers request to recognize him as a war martyr, saying: As you yourself have mentioned in your request, you belong to the Bahaideviant sect and, based on the directive and bylaws of the Martyrs Foundation, creating a file as a martyr or a veteran for anybody who belongs to the Bahai deviant sect is forbidden and this foundation cannot provide you with any services that are offered to the families of war martyrs.

Read more from the original source:
Mohioddin Zehni: Baha'i Martyr of the Iran-Iraq War - IranWire |

Parliament Swears In 64 New MPs; Coordination Framework Divided Over Government Formation; Kadhimi Visits Saudi Arabia And Iran On June 23, Iraqs Parliament convened an extraordinary session in which 64 new MPs were sworn to replace MPs loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr who had resigned on June 12. On June 24, Asaib Ahl al-Haq leader, Qais al-Khazali, said it was difficult to form a stable government without the Sadrists, and called for a political agreement on redoing the elections under a new law and electoral commission. Khazalis position is at odds with that of Nouri al-Maliki, who wants to take the lead on government formation regardless of Sadrs participation. Press reports say Maliki has a strong interest in becoming PM again and believes that the risks of excluding Sadr are exaggerated. On June 25 and 26, PM Kadhimi visited Saudi Arabia and Iran, where he met with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and President Ibrahim Raisi to discuss bilateral relations and regional developments. Kadhimis office said the talks focused on efforts to establish peace and calm in the region. Speaking from Tehran, Kadhimi said he and Raisi agreed to support a truce in Yemen, while a spokesman for Irans foreign ministry said that Kadhimi related that Riyadh was ready to resume talks on the diplomatic level in Baghdad. On June 24, Salah ad-Din politician Ahmed al-Jubouri (aka Abu Mazin) said he and his party left the Siyada Coalition of Speaker Halbousi and rejoined their previous parent bloc, the Azm Coalition. more

Rockets Target Key Kurdistan Gas Field; Iraqs T-50 Jets Take To The Sky; KRG To Enforce Gun Controls Between June 22 25, five Katyusha-type rockets targeted the Khor-Mor gas field in Sulaymaniyah on three separate occasions. The attacks, which originated from inside the Kurdistan region, did not disrupt operations or production at the field, which is a vital source of fuel for power plants, but prompted the operator, Dana Gas, to halt an expansion project at the field. The attacks came shortly after two rockets fired from Bashiqa targeted Peshmerga forces in Shaikhan. On June 22, Iraqs Defense Ministry said the air forces T-50 jets made their first flight that day from an air base in Baghdad. The aircraft had been grounded since their arrival in 2017 due to financial problems that delayed contracts for essential maintenance, logistics, and training services. On June 30, after a series of high-profile gun murders, KRG PM Masrour Barzani ordered his interior ministry to shut down all places selling weapons and to confiscate any unlicensed weapons. In other developments, on June 17, a Turkish armed drone struck a vehicle transporting PKK militant in Kalar, more than 160 miles from the Turkish border, killing four people. On June 19, Iraqi airstrikes killed Abu Mansoor, the so-called Wali of Anbar, and three of his associates. Between June 18 28, the explosions of seven IEDs in Diyala, Baghdad, Ninewa, Basra, and Babylon, injured at least seven Iraqis. On June 23, the ministries of Defense and Peshmerga reached an agreement under which the Defense Ministry will provide training to Peshmerga forces and allow residents of Kurdistan region to enroll in the Defense Ministrys military academy and staff college. more

Cholera Outbreak Confirmed; New Project Aims To Build Climate Change Resilience; Iraq In New Wave Of COVID-19 Spread On June 19, Iraqs Health Ministry said that lab tests confirmed 13 cases of the cholera in Sulaymaniyah, Muthanna, and Kirkuk. The results confirmed the suspected outbreak, first reported in Sulaymaniyah, where large numbers of people fell sick with relevant symptoms, including diarrhea and vomiting. In response to the outbreak, the WHO sent an urgent consignment of medicines and medical supplies to help local health authorities deal with the situation. On June 29, the UNDP said it launched a new project with funding from the UK and Canada to help Iraq speed up its response to climate change. The Catalytic Climate Action in Iraq is a partnership with the Ministry of Environment designed to build Iraqs capacity to mitigate and adapt to the impact of climate change by managing natural resources, developing renewable resources, and increasing resilience to climate-induced hazards. On June 30, Iraqs Health Ministry said the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 2,348,662, an increase of 17,514 from the 2,331,148 reported on June 16. Hospitalizations increased more than 580%, from 2,146 to 12,516, and the daily average for new cases jumped to 1,251/day during the last 14-day period. The number of people who received the COVID-19 vaccine reached 10,860,930 including 13,125 who received their shots on June 30. As the spread accelerated, the Ministry warned that the spike in infections and hospitalizations indicated that Iraq was in a new wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ministry urged Iraqis to get vaccinated and go back to using preventative measures on the individual and community levels. more

Iraq Cracks Down On Smuggling Amid Fuel Shortages; Oil Services Companies Respond To Baghdads Blacklist Threat On June 26, Iraqs Joint Operations Command said that PM Kadhimi ordered a new crackdown on fuel smugglers, as the country deals with widespread fuel shortages. As of June 29, raids across several provinces resulted in 42 arrests, the recovery of 700,000 liters of smuggled fuels, and penalties against eight complicit gas stations. Iraqs Oil Ministry attributed the shortage to a price differential between the Kurdistan region and adjacent provinces, which created new incentives for smuggling. On June 27, Schlumberger told Iraqs Oil Ministry that it will comply with the February 15 ruling by Iraqs Federal Supreme Court and subsequent letters sent by Iraqs National Oil Company concerning operations in the Kurdistan region. Schlumberger agreed to refrain from competing for future contracts in Kurdistan, and said it will make all the necessary efforts to resolve issues concerning current contracts. Baker Hughes and Halliburton made similar commitments. In other developments, on June 20, Iraqs Oil Ministry said that the Basra Gas Company exported its inaugural cargo of semi-refrigerated liquid [petroleum] gas from the port of Umm Qasr. On June 28, Iraqs Central Bank said it decided to increase funding available for private sector development initiatives to IQD18 trillion. more

For more background on most of the institutions, key actors, political parties, and locations mentioned in our takeaways or in the stories that follow, see the ISHM Reference Guide.

Link:
Iraq Security and Humanitarian Monitor: June 16 - 30, 2022

An Egyptian delegation of water treatment experts visited Iraq this month for talks with Iraqi officials on addressing an acute water crisis in the Arab country.

The Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources said June 20 that the Egyptian delegation discussed a proposal for building a water desalination plant on the Euphrates River. The station will be used to purify and desalinate seawater to help ease water shortages in southern Iraq.

Minister of Irrigation Mohamed Abdel-Ati said the visit was part of an agreementbetween Cairo and Baghdad to benefit from Egypts expertise in water management.

Egypt and Iraq are keen on making the best use of their water resources amid challenges facing the two countries in the field of water, he added.

The proposed plant on the Euphrates River will be modeled on Egypts Bahr al-Baqar wastewater treatment plant, the largest of its kind in the world. The plant has a production capacity of 5.6 million cubic meters per day.

Iraq was known in ancient times as Mesopotamia, or the land between two riversthe Tigris and the Euphrates. The country is facing its worst drought in decades amid lack of rainfall and poor management of water resources.

Iraq relies on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers for nearly all of its water needs. The two rivers originate in Turkey and flow to the Shatt Al-Arab basin in southern Iraq. While the Euphrates River crosses Syria and Iraq, the Tigris flows from Turkey into Iraq.

Turkey contributes 90% to the Euphrates River while Syria contributes 10% to the water flow. As for the Tigris, Turkey, Iraq and Iran contribute 40%, 51% and 9%, respectively.

Dams constructed by both Turkey and Iran on the two rivers, however, have either blocked or diverted water into Iraq, creating acute water shortages there.

According to the Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources, the two rivers are forecast to dry up by 2040 unless action is taken to change the current trends. The countrys Sawa Lake already dried out this year, and Razzaza Lake is shrinking.

Southern Iraq faces particularly serious water shortages. The lack of water flow out of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers combined with the rising sea level is pushing salt water from the Arabian Gulf into Iraqs rivers.

Prominent Iraqi environmentalist Azzam Alwash blames climate change for aggravating the current water crisis in Iraq.

The crisis is exacerbated by the increased salinity, rising sea level and lack of flow from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers into Iraq, Alwash, founder and CEO of the environmental group Nature Iraq, told Al-Monitor.

He said climate change causes temperatures to rise and leads to increases in the level of evaporation. The World Bank forecasts that a temperature increase of 1 Celsius would cause a 20% reduction of available freshwater in Iraq by 2050.

For instance, Lake Tharthar, one of the largest lakes in Iraq, loses around 7 billion cubic meters of water in evaporation every year, Alwash added.

According to the United Nations Environment Program, Iraq ranks as the fifth most vulnerable country in the world to climate change. Last year, the World Bank warned that southern Iraq is already exceeding critical water quality thresholds, often too contaminated for people to use.

Abbas Sharaky, professor of geology and water resources at Cairo University, said Egypt has major expertise in water desalination and the reuse of wastewater from which Iraq can benefit.

There is a similarity in the water situation in both Iraq and Egypt, Sharaky told Al-Monitor by phone. While the Nile River, Egypts only source of fresh water, originates from outside the border in Ethiopia, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers on which Iraq relies originate from Turkey and Iran, he said.

Both Cairo and Baghdad are engaged in disputes with upstream countries regarding the construction of dams on rivers without consent from downstream countries, he added.

Egypt and Ethiopia are at odds over the construction of a giant hydroelectric dam on the Blue Nile, a main tributary of the Nile River. While Cairo views the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) as an existential threat to its water share from the Nile, Addis Ababa sees it as vital to its economic development.

Years of negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to reach a legally binding agreement on the filling and operation of the GERD have failed to make any breakthrough.

Egypt depends on the Nile River to meet 97% of its water needs, which amount to about 114 billion cubic meters annually. The countrys water resources, however, do not exceed 60 billion cubic meters annually, with a deficit of up to 54 billion cubic meters annually. The gap between water resources and needs is bridged by treating sewage and agricultural water with the aim of reusing it.

The Egyptian government has adopted an ambitious plan to build dozens of plants for seawater desalination to help meet the countrys growing water needs. So far, Egypt has constructed 82 desalination plants, with a total water capacity of 917,000 cubic meters per day. The government is also planning to build 14 new desalination plants to raise the capacity of water to 1.4 million cubic meters per day. Egypt has also launched a project worth 80 billion pounds ($4.26 billion) for rehabilitating canals with total lengths of 20,000 kilometers.

Sharaky said Egypt has state-of-the-art water research centers specialized in the hydrology of rivers and the development of irrigation and water supply systems.

Egypt has made long strides in building water treatment plants, the reuse of wastewater and constructing dams for harvesting rainwater, and Iraq can benefit from this Egyptian expertise in dealing with the acute water shortages in the country, he said.

See more here:
Egypt to build desalination plant in Iraq - Al-Monitor: Independent ...