'Red Bull' Featured in 'True War Stories' Anthology

Fifteen captivating tales of humor, horror, and other wartime experiences are presented in the forthcoming 250-page comics anthology "True War Stories." The 250-page hardcover, co-edited by Alex de Campi and Iraq War veteran Khai Krumbhaar, will be published by Z2 Comics in November 2020. However, a 30-day Kickstarter campaign launches today, Tues., Aug. 18, 2020. Through the crowd-funding effort, readers may preview and pre-order the book.

One of the featured "True War Stories" is related to the 2010-2011 deployment of the Iowa National Guard's 2nd Brigade Combat Team (B.C.T.), 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division.

Written by former Iowa National Guard citizen-soldier Randy Brown, "In the Valley of Lions" originally appeared as an essay in Volume 2 of "Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors." As "Charlie Sherpa," Brown writes about citizen-soldier culture at the Red Bull Rising blog; about modern war poetry at FOBhaiku.com, and about military writing at The Aiming Circle. He also edited a 2015 collection of U.S. Army public affairs journalism about the Iowa brigade's deployment, "Reporting for Duty: U.S. Citizen-Soldier Journalism from the Afghan Surge, 2010-2011."

"As far as I can tell, the last time the 'Red Bull' unit patch showed up in a comic book was in 'Combat Kelly' No. 21, published in 1954," says Brown. "Unlike that story, however, this 'Red Bull' tale is the non-fiction—the real deal. I hope it adequately portrays some of the strange context and significant sacrifices our citizen-soldier neighbors made for the United States, for the people of Panjshir Province, and for the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA).'"

Art on the 13-page comics story "In the Valley of Lions" is by Ryan Howe. Colors are by Kelly Fitzpatrick.

Brown's original essay contrasts a 2-day U.S. Department of State-sponsored "tourism conference" held in Pansjhir Province in June 2011, with a July 2011 insider attack that resulted in the deaths of Sgt. 1st Class Terryl Pasker, 39, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and civilian law enforcement advisor Paul Protzenko, 46, of Enfield, Mass. Also injured in the attack was Master Sgt. Todd Eipperle, 46, of Marshalltown, Iowa. Eipperle was recognized for his response to the attack.

Later in 2011, the Red Bull Rising blog posted additional information about the attack here.

Published annually published by Southeast Missouri State University Press, Cape Girardeau, Mo., the "Proud to Be" series is an anthology of military non-fiction, fiction, poetry, photography, and more. For a Red Bull Rising review of the 2013 volume in which "In the Valley of Lions" first appeared, click here.

For more information about "True War Stories," and to pre-order one or more copies—including editions autographed by the co-editors—visit the Kickstarter campaign here.

Book Captures 'Red Bull' Stories from Afghan Surge

At the height of the Afghan Surge, more than 100,000 U.S. and coalition troops were committed to a counterinsurgency (COIN) mission of "clear, hold, and build" on behalf of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan: Clear the countryside of insurgent fighters. Hold the terrain, alongside Afghan security forces. Build infrastructure, commerce, and rule-of-law.

As part of this wave, the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division (2-34th BCT) deployed more than 3,000 citizen-soldiers to Eastern Afghanistan. It was the largest call-up of Iowa troops since World War II—and one of the only times a U.S. National Guard brigade was designated as a "battlespace owner" during Operation Enduring Freedom. They called themselves "Task Force Red Bulls."

Johnston, Iowa-based Middle West Press LLC announces the November 2016 publication of "Reporting for Duty," an historical collection of U.S. Army public affairs articles and images released during the 2-34th's 2010-2011 deployment as Task Force Red Bulls. The fully indexed, 668-page trade paperback features more than 285 easy-to-read articles, and more than 360 black & white newspaper-quality photos. Retail price is $27.99 U.S. The book is available via national on-line book vendors, such as Amazon here.

A 60-second promotional book trailer is here, and below this blog post.

"Task Force Red Bulls Public Affairs produced an amazing amount of content while in Afghanistan—easily more than 1 million words, and hundreds of images," says book's editor Randy Brown. Brown is a retired member of the Iowa unit and a former Iowa community newspaper editor. In May-June 2011, Brown also embedded with the 2-34th BCT for a few weeks in Afghanistan. "During the deployment, readers of individual news articles probably couldn't appreciate the scope and the scale of the missions at hand. Each story related to the larger "clear, hold, and build" mission of U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan."

"It's been amazing to pull all of those narratives together, and to re-order them chronologically," Brown says. "With everything collected as a book, the Red Bull's deployment year becomes this epic story—with a beginning, middle, and end."

While digital archives such as the Defense Video and Image Distribution System (DVIDS, pronounced "DIH-vids") continue to operate, Brown notes that many deployment-specific websites and social media channels have proven less permanent. "Websites such as 'IowaRedBulls.com' and 'CJTF-101.com' simply no longer exist," he says. "This on-line history needed to be preserved in print."

With assistance and new insights from former members of the Task Force Red Bulls Public Affairs, Brown compiled, edited, and indexed 2010-2011 Army news coverage from "Area of Operations Red Bulls," which includes Parwan, Panjshir and Laghman provinces, along with a portion of Nuristan.

Also included is similar coverage from Paktya Province—"Area of Operations Lethal"—where Iowa's 1st Battalion, 168th Infantry Regiment (1-168th Inf.) was deployed "Task Force Lethal" under a different brigade's control. Coverage includes a full-spectrum of activities and actions by Red Bull units and their partners, including Provincial Reconstruction Teams (P.R.T.), Agribusiness Development Teams (A.D.T.), Embedded Training Teams (E.T.T.), and more.

"I'm particularly pleased that we were able to successfully index the coverage," says Brown. "Readers can look up soldiers by name, to find family and friends in every story or photo in which they're mentioned. This is a great research tool. I particularly hope this book finds its way into community, school, family, and museum libraries."

In 2017, the 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division celebrates its 100th anniversary. "Middle West Press will be looking at additional projects involving Midwestern voices and history. And continuing to tell the Iowa National Guard and 34th Inf. Div. stories will, no doubt, be a large part of that effort," says Brown.

Middle West Press LLC is a Central Iowa-based independent press, with a mission of preserving and promoting new voices and visions of the American Middle West. For information:

Middle West Press
P.O. Box 31099
Johnston, Iowa 50131-9423

Or visit: www.middlewestpress.com.

Sherpa Just Bought Himself an MRAP Truck!

Charlie Sherpa poses in 'Kilroy defilade' with his new MRAP truck.

Sherpa just bought a new vehicle! And, rather than the Boss 302 Mustang about which he fantasized while in Panjshir Province—it's a happy, hulking MRAP truck! Or, rather, it's a portrait of one, rendered in pencil by artist and illustrator Aaron Provost.

On the Red Bull Rising blog, I've previously mentioned Provost's work here and here. He's an Iraq War veteran, Navy spouse, and a talented and funny guy.

As readers of the blog may have also detected over the years, I seem to have grown increasingly obsessed with MRAP trucks. I have, for example, stashed a personal cache of Matchbox-brand MRAP toys around the office. (Other links about Sherpa's war toy chest here and here.)

At my Des Moines barber shop, I recently found
the same May 2011 issue of Road & Track
I originally read at the 'Bull Pen' at FOB Lion,
Panjshir Province. Obviously, the Boss 302 and I
were meant to someday be together. Call it karma.

The recent acquisition of Provost's work, however, marks my first foray into fine art. And it was much more affordable than the real thing. Or even a Mustang.

In my opinion, the Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected truck is the signature ground vehicle—or rather, the signature family of ground vehicles—of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They were designed to protected Improvised Explosive Devices (I.E.D.)—the signature enemy weapons of those wars. With V-shaped hulls to deflect undercarriage blasts up and away from the occupants, the vehicles are both top-heavy and very heavy. The most dangerous spot in an MRAP vehicle is probably the gunner's, who sits in a turret atop the truck, exposed to bullets, blasts, and rollovers.

Priced at more than $500,000 each, the 14- to 30-ton MRAP trucks mostly did what they were supposed to do: Save American and allied lives, whatever the cost. In a counterinsurgency effort, however—winning over a population with lots of handshakes and smiles—armored protection becomes problematic. After all, it's hard to win hearts and make eye contact through bullet-proof glass.

That said, I am a little distressed to find that many MRAP trucks are following the troops home to the United States. The Des Moines (Iowa) Register's Kyle Munson reports, for example, that seven Iowa communities—including Washington, Iowa (pop. 7,266)—have taken delivery of "free" war-surplus MRAP trucks.

Beyond the potential hidden costs and safety hazards of MRAP ownership and maintenance, I'm not sure I like what that says about the over-militarization of law enforcement in the United States. You can't be "Officer Friendly" in an MRAP. I'm not saying police don't need tactical equipment and training, but does Smalltown, Iowa really need bomb-proof trucks to serve and protect its citizens? Heck, does any Iowa town?

If they wanted one so badly, maybe city leaders should have just bought a nice picture of one.

That's what I did.

*****

For artist Aaron Provost's business Facebook page, click here.

For an on-line shop featuring his original artwork—including helos and Howitzers—click here. If you see something that he's done elsewhere that isn't listed here, he says, make sure to zap him a message!

He also takes commissions, including one recently executed for Treadswift Tactical, LLC. Provost's illustration "Recon On" (which I think should be alternately titled "OP Yorick") is available as a signed and numbered print here.

His military-themed and other commercial illustration work can be found here and here.

Remember the Names; Tell Their Stories

This new Red Bull Rising post originally appeared as a guest opinion in the Iowa City (Iowa) Press-Citizen May 28, 2012:

I joined the Iowa Army National Guard because I wanted to serve God, country and community. What I didn’t realize was that, in addition to paying for my education and giving me a part-time (and sometimes full-time) job, I’d receive a lifetime of “war stories” in return.

In 1993, I slung sandbags in Cedar Rapids. My wedding in 1997 was nearly postponed by a deployment to Bosnia. [The wedding happened, the deployment did not.] In 2000, I monitored levees on the Mississippi River, protecting some of my old high school haunts. In 2003, I ran a movie theater, and radio and TV stations on a beach in Egypt. During the blizzards of 2007, I worked the night shift in the state operations center. In 2009, I helped prepare 1,000 troops for a short-notice mission to support a U.S. presidential inauguration.

When I first raised my right hand to enlist, I couldn’t have predicted any of that. Lots of stories.

In 2010, I prepared to deploy with 3,000 Iowans of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry “Red Bull” Division (2-34th BCT). It was the largest deployment of Iowa National Guard troops since World War II. Paperwork got in the way of my deployment, but I went later as a civilian reporter. That, too, makes for a good story: "Middle-aged Midwestern Boy meets Afghan deployment, boy loses deployment, boy goes to Afghanistan anyway."

Some war stories I tell to entertain others. Some of them I don’t. Sometimes, I change the names, especially on the goofy ones. Sometimes, however, the names are the essential part of the story: 

• Sgt. Brent M. Maher, 31, of Honey Creek. Killed April 11, 2011, in Paktia Province, when an Improvised Explosive Device detonated under the armored vehicle in which he was positioned as gunner. 

• Spc. Donald L. Nichols, 21, of Shell Rock. Killed April 13, 2011, in Laghman Province, when an IED detonated under the vehicle in which he was traveling.

• Staff Sgt. James A. Justice, 32, of Grimes. Killed April 23, 2011, by small-arms fire in Kapisa Province, during an helicopter-borne mission to secure the position of a downed U.S. attack helicopter. 

• Sgt. First Class Terryl L. Pasker, 39, of Cedar Rapids. Killed by small-arms fire July 10, 2011, when a rogue Afghan security officer attacked at a makeshift traffic stop in Panjshir Province. 

Maher was a husband, a father of three and worked an Omaha auto dealership.

Nichols was engaged to be married; his brother, a U.S. Army Reserve soldier then also deployed to Afghanistan, escorted the body home.

Justice—his nickname was “Juice”—was a hardworking NCO who fought to go on the deployment even after the Red Bull had left Iowa in August 2010. He arrived in country in February 2011. He had a wife Amanda, and a daughter named Caydence.

Pasker? After a year in the “safest province in Afghanistan”—U.S. soldiers in Panjshir didn’t drive armored military trucks, out of respect to their local hosts — he was planning to retire, go back to building homes, and start a family with his wife, Erica. His unit was just days away from returning to Iowa when he was killed.

People don’t have to visit a cemetery to celebrate the lives and sacrifices of our citizen-soldiers, nor should they forget the friends and families who bear scars and burdens long after the trumpets play. They do, however, have to remember. And people can’t remember if we don’t talk about the fallen. We have to say the names. We have to tell their stories.

The 2012 feature film “Memorial Day”—available on DVD and Blu-ray May 29—tells the story of a Minnesota boy who confronts his grandfather with a dusty World War II footlocker, filled with souvenirs. Actor James Cromwell’s character tells 13-year-old Kyle: “I didn’t loot. And I didn’t steal. I collected things that would help me remember.”

Me? I collect stories.

Kyle grows up to wear the same 34th Division “Red Bull” patch currently worn by many Minnesota and Iowa National Guard soldiers. Like thousands of other Midwestern veterans and citizen-soldiers, I proudly wore that patch on my shoulder. So did Maher, Nichols, Justice and Pasker.

After I retired, I packed my own footlocker, after my wife asked me to rid the house of my surplus Army baggage. Into a single government-issue box, I put 20 years of uniforms and boots, along with patches, pins, and other paraphernalia.

One day, I’ll tell my kids about what’s inside. I will tell them about the Red Bull. I will tell them about giving back, and putting your life on hold to serve country and community. I’ll tell them about making each day count, and never taking anything for granted.

Especially coming home.

War Stories and Coffee Talk

I wore my Afghan media mufti earlier this week. The madness of deploying and not deploying to Afghanistan now over, I'm volunteering again as a board member in our homeowners association. Our suburban neighborhood was developed by Pioneer Hi-bred, a company with a proud Iowa history and connection to the land. Developers interspersed lots of green spaces among the houses and cul-de-sacs, and even designated a prairie restoration area.

One graduate school degree later, I now understand that the term "restoration" presumes that there was prairie there to begin with, and I'm not intellectually prepared to argue that we're turning back the clock in any way.

We city-folk in Iowa tend to think two things about our land:

1. Before European settlement, it used to be prairie. There may have been buffalo. And tall grasses.
2. Today, it's industrialized, planted out in corn, hogs, and soybeans. There is very little "nature" left in our patch of the Middle West.

Still, the prairie is a unique feature to our neighborhood, and gives us a sense of place and character that wouldn't otherwise be found in our otherwise cookie-cutter production homes. A few board members, volunteers, and contractors were going to walk the terrain this week. We'd recently hired a crew to conduct a prairie burn, and wanted to assess the results. We also wanted to plan our summer attack on weeds and invasives.

So I wore the same kit that I wore in Afghanistan. I've taken to calling it "mufti," after the British military custom of altering the uniform for off-duty wear. (Think "fez and slippers," because I know I do.)

Red Bull Rising blog readers may remember how I agonized about what not to wear during my 2011 embed with the Iowa National Guard's 2nd Brigade Combat Team (B.C.T.), 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division (2-34th BCT). As a citizen-soldier, Uncle Sam tells you exactly what to pack. When you're a civilian writer, however, Uncle Sam gets a little passive-aggressive: Don't wear camouflage patterns or military equipment. No weapons. Bring your own flak vest.

The Arabic word "mufti" originally meant "an Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic law." I enjoy the multiple layers of meaning. Makes me feel like bit of an infidel.

For the prairie walk, I wore my tan ACU-style trousers (cargo pockets!), my civilian Gore-Tex hiking boots, and a wicking T-shirt under a powder-blue long-sleeved travel shirt. The kind that you can hand-wash in a sink full of non-potable water, and afterward dry in about 60 minutes of Afghan sun. And my Iowa Cyclones ball cap, subdued brown instead of the usual cardinal-and-gold.

To paraphrase a favorite line from "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962), however: "Before the prairie must come the coffee."

When I walk into the local Starbucks for a cup of the dark stuff, I'm greeted by the same National Guard officer who hired me on temporary duty back in summer 2010, after my wife and I learned three weeks before mobilization that I'd not be deploying with the rest of the 2-34th BCT. I'd worked with him previously, when he had been the brigade's executive officer. In 2010, he had been the state mobilization officer, and asked me to join an Iowa "white cell" team. Our mission was to help get the Red Bull to Camp Shelby, Miss., then to Fort Irwin, Calif. After that, we joked, the brigade would be "beyond our help."

In effect, this was the gentleman who started "Operation Bad Penny"—my continual visitation of Red Bull units through post-mobilization training and simulated combat.

A couple of weeks after hiring me for stateside duty, my new boss was himself called to deploy with the 2-34th BCT. He eventually commanded an Embedded Training Team (E.T.T.) in Panjshir Province, then part of the 2-34th BCT's "Area of Operation Red Bulls."

When he spots me in Starbucks this week, I'm pretty much wearing the same thing I wore when I got of the helicopter in Panjshir, minus the body armor. After we shake hands, he turns to his coffee shop colleague, and proceeds to tell the story of how his team had gotten the word that some civilian V.I.P. named Sherpa was in-bound. He hadn't made the "Bad Penny" connection that it was me, however, until I'd arrived in person at FOB Lion. It's a story I've heard him tell before, of course. I've even told it a few times myself.

It's like I say: "Big Army, small world."

The Constant State-by-State of War

When I started the Red Bull Rising blog in late 2009, I was preparing to deploy as a member of the Iowa Army National Guard. My buddies and I kept a digital ear out for news of Vermont's 86th Brigade Combat Team (B.C.T.), the unit we planned to replace. We sifted and scanned Vermont newspaper and television reports, U.S. Army public affairs releases from Afghanistan, and posts from mil-bloggers and Facebookers.

The 1,500-member 86th BCT had originally deployed as the command-and-control headquarters for Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix, a U.S. and coalition training mission that had been in place since 2003. (A quick review: In Army speak, the term "combined" means "U.S. plus allies." The term "joint" means one or more branches of the armed forces: Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy, Coast Guard. A "task force" is an group of disparate units organized around a specific mission.)

The CJTF Phoenix mission was to advise and assist the Afghan National Security Forces (A.N.S.F.), including various forms of Afghan police and military units. It controlled 8- or 16-person Embedded Training Teams (E.T.T.). Coalition partners call their ETT personnel "Operational Mentor Liaison Teams" (OMLT, pronounced "omelette").

An additional irony? Such Foreign Internal Defense ("FID") training missions have traditionally been considered a core mission of U.S. Special Forces. The National Guard, on the other hand, often has to battle "second-string" stereotypes when encountering active-duty soldiers in the field. Even after more than 10 years of deployments, and transformation into an operational reserve.

That U.S. National Guard soldiers tend to have civilian-acquired work experiences and skills is often touted as an advantage in the advise-and-assist context. Citizen-soldiers who are law enforcement professionals back home can be used to mentor Afghan National Police, for example. Teachers and coaches, business owners and managers can be more familiar with non-military mentorship models. With the possible exception of the National Guard’s joint Agribusiness Development Teams (A.D.T.), however, in which citizen-soldiers and -airmen are deployed based upon their civilian-acquired agricultural skills, it’s hard to move such assumptions and assertions beyond the anecdotal.

In 2009, in the middle of a foreign country, a deployment, and a war, Vermont's 86th BCT reconfigured to a mission in which they would act as "battlespace owners" for the provinces of Parwan, Panjshir, and Bamiyan Provinces. Two more U.S. National Guard brigades—each approximately 3,000 personnel each—would follow. Rather than being sliced up into smaller companies and battalions, and assigned to support active-duty brigades, the National Guard brigades were kept relatively whole.

Iowa's 2nd BCT, 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division (2-34th BCT) deployed to Afghanistan from October 2010 to July 2011. It took over the mission in Parwan (where Bagram Airfield is located), Panjshir, and Laghman Provinces. One Red Bull battalion, the 1st Battalion, 168th Infantry Regiment (1-168th Inf.) was attached to active-duty brigade in Paktiya Province. A 400-member Nebraska Army National Guard unit with historical ties to the Red Bull, the 1st Squadron, 134th Cavalry (1-134th Cav.), deployed alongside the 2-34th BCT. Based at Camp Phoenix in Kabul, the 1-134th Cav. deployed as mentors and trainers for Afghan National Police.

Oklahoma's 45th BCT ("Thunderbird") took over the Red Bull's mission in July 2012, maintaining responsibility for Laghman Province and other areas. After the Thunderbird took over, my Red Bull buddies and I again took to the Internet, this time watching for Oklahoma newspaper and television reports, U.S. Army public affairs releases, and posts from mil-bloggers and Facebookers. As of this week, nearly all of the Thunderbird units have returned home to Oklahoma. Rather than hand-off to another U.S. National Guard unit, in February the Thunderbird transferred authority to an active-duty unit.

Watching a war through the lens of brigade-sized deployments, state by state, is an accessible way to perceive the ebb and flow of the past 10 years. In the beginning, it was team after 16-person mentor team. Occasionally, a state would get tapped for the CJTF Phoenix mission—a brigade's worth of headquarters staff, plus yet more advise-and-assist teams. Then, for a grand and glorious moment, the states were asked to muster fully trained, fully resourced fighting brigades. Newspaper reporters wrote sentences like, "the largest deployment of Iowa troops since World War II."

Now, with American resolve, purpose, and troop numbers waning in Afghanistan, U.S. political and military leaders have taken to describing a "new" mission of advising and assisting Afghan forces, and withdrawing troops by 2014. Given that the advise-and-assist mission started in 2003 and never stopped, this latest language seems like rhetorical repackaging. Meet the new mission, same as the old mission.

During mobilization in 2011, Ohio's 37th BCT ("Buckeye")—was re-configured to fulfill an advise-and-assist mission in Northern Afghanistan. It arrived Afghanistan in February 2012.

The Red Bull Rising crystal ball is currently in for servicing and recalibration, but it seems as if the moment of brigade-sized deployments might be over. Perhaps National Guard units will be more likely to deploy piecemeal as companies and battalions, or as 16-person mentor-and-trainer teams. Even the National Guard-specific Agribusiness Development Teams (A.D.T.) may be winding down. In a recent ceremony in Paktya Province, for example, the outgoing Nebraska ADT transferred its responsibilities to the co-located Provincial Reconstruction Team (P.R.T.).

During the Association of the United States Army (A.U.S.A.) annual convention and trial-balloon festival last fall, there was much talk of assigning the advise-and-assist mission to the Reserve Component. (Other, contradictory balloons: Assign to the U.S. Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve most or all of the heavy/armored and field artillery forces.) Proposals to create and train specific advise-and-assist capability, whether in the active- or reserve-components, seem to have stalled. The consensus seems to be that the military will continue to take such teams ad hoc and out of hide, rather than create specific organizations or structure. Every soldier wants to grow up to be Patton or Schwarzkopf; few aspire to be Lawrence of Arabia.

That's not to say that operational deployments are over, or that war isn't still a dangerous business. While 70 headquarters soldiers of the Indiana National Guard's 76th BCT ("Night Hawks") were engaged in send-off ceremonies to Afghanistan last January, the Hoosier state simultaneously learned of the loss of four Indiana combat engineers assigned to the 713th Engineer Company, Valaparaiso, Ind.

Sobering times.

War beats on.

*****

For additional insights into the history of the advise-and-assist mission, see Jeffrey Courter's "Afghan Journal" and Benjamin Tupper's "Greetings from Afghanistan" and "Dudes of War." Also, check out former U.S. Marine officer Jonathan Rue's "Build a House and Burn it Down," in which he reflects on his experiences training Iraqi soldiers. And Joseph Trevithick's insightful attempt on Tom Ricks' "Best Defense" blog to untangle the historically convoluted U.S./coalition command structures in Afghanistan.

2012 Condition of the Iowa Guard Speech

Echoing the tradition of the U.S. presidential "State of the Union" address to Congress, the state of Iowa engages in a series of annual speeches from various governmental leaders. The best known is the governor's "State of the State" address—now more likely called the "Condition of the State" in public and in the press—to Iowa legislators. The state supreme court justice annually delivers a "Condition of the Judiciary" speech. In what may be a practice unique to the Hawkeye State, the highest ranking officer of the Iowa National Guard delivers a "Condition of the Guard."

In 2011's Condition of the Guard address, Maj. Gen. Timothy Orr spoke of more than 3,000 Iowa National Guard soldiers deployed to Afghanistan and elsewhere. Those soldiers included the 2nd Brigade Combat Team (B.C.T.), 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division (2-34th BCT) and the 734th Agri-business Development Team (A.D.T.). Orr is the adjutant general of the state of Iowa, and a former commander of 2-34th BCT. In this week's 2012 address, Orr reported that, for the first time since 2001, most of the Iowa National Guard's approximately 10,000 soldiers and airmen had returned home.

Orr also talked about the National Guard as a cost-effective supplement to active-duty military forces, celebrated developing state military partnerships with Kosovo, and pointed to employment and education efforts that support citizen-soldiers and veterans.

The complete text of Orr's Jan. 18, 2012 address appears below.

****

'PERFORMANCE AND PROMISE OF OUR HOMETOWN MILITARY – THE IOWA NATIONAL GUARD'

It is indeed an honor and a privilege to be here today and report on the condition of our Iowa National Guard, an organization that continues to be “Mission Focused and Warrior Ready.” With the exception of about 90 soldiers and airmen who are currently mobilized as individual deployers, nearly all of our personnel were home for the holidays. And for the first time since 2001, I can report the Iowa National Guard does not have any units currently deployed overseas.

Last month, the final contingent of American soldiers departed Iraq, bringing to a close this extraordinary chapter of American military history. As in previous military campaigns and conflicts, the Iowa National Guard played a prominent role and served with honor and distinction.

I am so proud of those who served and sacrificed in Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn. They helped liberate and secure a country and gave hope to millions of Iraqis. Getting to this day was not easy. It tried our political and military leadership in ways unseen since the challenges of Vietnam. Despite these extraordinary circumstances, the men and women who served there did not falter. They carried out their duties day-in and day-out, many on multiple deployments, to ensure mission success.

Company B, of the 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, our last Iowa National Guard unit deployed to Iraq, returned home in November after flying more than 7,100 hours in support of Operation New Dawn. As the last CH-47 "Chinook" helicopter unit in Iraq, Company B played a critical role helping to remove personnel and equipment in support of the President’s efforts to have all American forces out of Iraq by the end of 2011, transporting 49,000 passengers and over four million pounds of cargo and equipment on more than 1,800 missions.

We thank the more than 7,000 Iowa National Guard soldiers and airmen who served in support of these operations. And to their families who sacrificed in order that our Warriors may serve, we are eternally grateful for all they have done and endured.

Success in Iraq came with a heavy price. We will always honor and remember the brave Iowa National Guard warriors we lost there, our Gold Star families, our wounded warriors and all those whose lives have been forever changed by the adversity of war. We are grateful that so many were willing to serve and sacrifice in spite of these challenges. It is a testament to the character and values of the men and women who serve our state and nation in uniform.

I am so incredibly proud of our Iowa National Guard family—our soldiers, airmen, families, employers, volunteers, and our communities. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude for all they have done to make a difference in this noble endeavor.

The deployments of the last 10 years were unprecedented in recent memory as nearly 15,000 Iowa National Guard soldiers and airmen mobilized for overseas contingency operations. These missions demonstrated the performance and promise of the Iowa National Guard which is truly your hometown military. Tough, reliable, resilient, adaptable and above all, ready when called—the Iowa National Guard played a vital role in helping defend the Nation during a critical time in our history.

Though busy overseas, we did not lose sight of our most critical mission—homeland defense and support. In fact, we responded to numerous disasters both here in Iowa and across the country that were often exceptional in both size and scope. In doing so, we fulfilled our statutory and constitutional responsibilities to help defend the nation and provide the governor with a state emergency response force.

We are able to protect communities here in Iowa and help defend the United States overseas for approximately one-third the cost of active-duty soldiers and airmen, making the National Guard the “best value for America.”

Two weeks ago, President Obama outlined his Defense Strategic Guidance for sustaining U.S. global leadership in the 21st Century. Based on this guidance, U.S. defense priorities are being reviewed. Part of this process will include looking at the mix of active and reserve component forces. In doing so, we must ensure the National Guard continues to play a vital role as an operational complement to our active duty services.

The most logical option for the nation to preserve its military capability, capacity and depth in times of fiscal constraints is through continued reliance on the National Guard. To do this, the National Guard must remain a modern force, capable of rapidly mobilizing, deploying and integrating into ongoing and future contingency operations.

Since the founding of our republic, the United States has been and continues to be a “militia nation.” This tradition is embedded in our culture and enshrined in our Constitution. With the exception of the large standing military necessitated by World War II and the confrontation with the Soviets during the Cold War, we have traditionally maintained a small active duty force backed up by a strong militia, the successor of which is today’s National Guard.

We are fortunate that [Iowa] Gov. [Terry] Branstad currently serves as the co-chair for the President’s Council of Governors. The council provides a forum for governors to exchange views, information or advice with the Department of Defense, Homeland Security and other federal agencies concerning matters of mutual interest regarding National Guard, homeland defense and civil support activities. This council is intended to strengthen the partnership between the federal, state and local governments to better protect our nation, and provide governors, who serve as the commander and chief of the individual state National Guard forces, a voice in the process.

One way we hope to support and adapt to the changing environment is through the National Guard’s State Partnership program (SPP). The March 2011 selection of the Iowa National Guard with the Republic of Kosovo, as the newest state partnership program in the National Guard, will enhance civil and military relationships and strengthen partnership capacity between the United States and Kosovo. The current focus of the program is on noncommissioned officer and officer development activities as well as cooperative initiatives in the disaster response and emergency management arena.

Partnering with Kosovo is a natural fit for the Iowa National Guard and the state of Iowa. Our relationship with Kosovo is not new, over the course of the last 10 years we have deployed hundreds of Iowa National Guard soldiers there as part of NATO’s peacekeeping security force. The most recent unit, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 147th Aviation, returned home from Kosovo in April, where they successfully flew more than 150 missions supporting 15 different NATO countries. One of their greatest accomplishments was building strong relationships with Kosovo communities by providing English instruction to local students and helping them with college entrance requirements.

Our goal is to build a “Whole of Iowa” to “Whole of Kosovo” relationship. An example of this approach would be in the area of education where the state of Iowa is a national leader. The Iowa-Kosovo SPP is off to a fast and productive start with engagements with the Kosovo Security Forces, Kosovo’s minister of Defense, Foreign Affairs, Internal Affairs, Agriculture, Health and Education. We currently have conducted over 12 exchange events with Kosovo since March 2011.

One of our near-term goals is to establish a sister-state relationship and foster several sister-city relationships to further enhance this partnership. Working with our communities and the Iowa Sister States’ program, we want to establish relationships that will be of mutual interest to the citizens of Iowa and Kosovo.

Today, I am pleased to introduce Maj. Gen. Kadri Kastrati, the commander of the Kosovo Security Force, who is with us this morning as my honored guest. I asked him to be here today to help highlight this critically important relationship, observe our legislative process and meet some of our key leaders.

Please join me in giving Gen. Kastrati a warm Iowa welcome.

Gen. Kastrati, thank you for making this journey to join us here today. We are honored to be partnered with Kosovo and we look forward to a strong and productive relationship in the years ahead.

Since its inception in 1989, the Iowa National Guard’s Counter Drug Task Force, which is federally funded through the Department of Defense, has played an important role in helping reduce both the supply and demand of illicit drugs in the state of Iowa. It adds value to our communities by making them safer, leverages unique military skills and dual-use equipment, and serves as another example of the performance and promise of your hometown military.

By providing professional, military analytical support to federal, state and local law enforcement agencies throughout the state, we have assisted with thousands of cases leading to nearly 1,700 arrests and the seizure of over $38 million in illicit drugs as well as more than $1.7 million in cash and assets. Our Counterdrug Aviation Detachment helicopter support section provides aerial reconnaissance and surveillance, integration, and command and control to support law enforcement drug interdiction efforts.

The Midwest Counter-Drug Training Center, located on Camp Dodge, provides critical training at no cost to law enforcement officers, military personnel, and prevention and treatment professionals. Last year, the Midwest Counter-Drug Training Center conducted 340 courses, training over 13,000 students from across the United States. This program is especially important for small or rural law enforcement agencies that do not have the funding to pay for this type of training.

A year and a half ago, we deployed nearly 3,000 Iowa National Guard soldiers from every corner of the state to Afghanistan for our largest deployment since World War II. This deployment, which took nearly one-third of our force, was a tremendous undertaking for our entire organization. We pulled soldiers and units from across the state to augment the 2nd Brigade, [34th Inf. Div.], relied heavily on our state headquarters and other supporting commands to assist with mobilizing soldiers, moving equipment and taking care of families while their loved-one was away. It was truly a statewide effort.

The 2nd Brigade, [as] Task Force Red Bulls, conducted a complex mission in a very challenging part of the world. For only the second time in recent memory, a National Guard brigade combat team assumed responsibility for “battlespace” in Afghanistan. From the relative peace of Panjshir province, to the complex operations of Bagram Air Field and the instabilities of Laghman Province, Iowa National Guard Soldiers distinguished themselves in accomplishing their mission.

They participated in one of the largest airborne assaults and clearing operations conducted by the 101st Airborne Division, doing so without suffering any battlefield injuries. They established a new district center in the Galush valley bringing security and government services to a remote population threatened by Taliban insurgents.

They hunted down and removed high value targets from the battlefield, helping to lessen roadside bomb and rocket attacks on our forces. They worked to train Afghan soldiers and police officers, doing so with the unique skills that only a citizen-soldier can provide.

With only a few hours to prepare, they flew into a dangerous corner of Nuristan Province with their Afghan National Army partners to reclaim a police station overrun by Taliban insurgents. Though outnumbered, these Red Bull soldiers fought off a determined enemy force for more than eight hours. Reinforced by U.S. Special Forces and Afghan Commando elements, they retook the district center, and suffered no friendly casualties.

When the call came out to secure a downed helicopter, it was Iowa Red Bull soldiers who responded, helping to stop insurgents from overrunning the crash site and allowing friendly forces to recover the crew.

And perhaps most importantly, TF Red Bulls led the way in developing transition plans for much of its area of responsibility including Panjshir and Parwan Provinces as well as the Mehtar Lam municipality. These were critical steps in preparing these areas to assume greater responsibility for their own security, development efforts and governance.

While Task Force Red Bulls was securing its corner of Afghanistan, the 734th Agri-business Development Team, also known as Task Force Hawkeye, was busy conducting operations in Kunar Province. This joint Iowa Army and Air National Guard team initiated or expanded demonstration farms in six different districts; they implemented Veterinary Outreach Sustainment Programs which helped Afghan veterinarians treat nearly 40,000 head of livestock; they underwrote the planting of more than 70,000 trees for orchards and reforestation; they facilitated, or conducted training of hundreds of Afghan men and women on tree nurseries, orchard planting, greenhouse growing, row crop production, veterinary professional development, and basic livestock care; they funded cash-for-work canal cleaning projects that made possible the irrigation of thousands of acres of agricultural land; and through their Female Engagement Team launched a range of micro-entrepreneurial projects for Afghan women including soap-making, in-home sewing and small-scale poultry production.

Because of the unique nature of the Ag Development Team’s mission, several Iowa organizations provided support to their deployment by assisting them with pre-mobilization training and reach-back capability while they were in Afghanistan. I want to mention and thank the following organizations for their assistance and support to this important mission:

• The Iowa Department of Agriculture
• Iowa State University
• Living History Farms
• The Agribusiness Association of Iowa
• The Amish community in Edgewood, Iowa
• Coe College
• Cutting Edge Martial Arts in Washington, Iowa, and
• White Oak Vineyards

The 132nd Fighter Wing was also busy supporting overseas contingency operations. They provided five, F-16 aircraft and 54 airmen to assist another fighter wing with its Air Expeditionary Force rotation to Afghanistan and sent 34 expeditionary combat support airmen to 11 locations in Southwest Asia.

This past year, the wing flew more than 3,700 hours, which is 103 percent of their allocated flying hours, doing so with the lowest funded maintenance package in the Air National Guard. Because of this, they have the second lowest cost per flying hour compared to all ANG F-16 units and are the only Air National Guard wing to reduce energy costs four straight years. Perhaps most impressive and important is their safety record. They have amassed a phenomenal record of nearly 94,000 flight hours without a serious mishap and have one of the best maintenance groups in the Air Force as demonstrated by winning the 2011 Air National Guard Maintenance Effectiveness Award.

The Des Moines Airbase’s 132nd Distributed Training Operations Center provides daily tactical Distributed Mission Operations training events on 18 types of weapons systems to nearly 70 different sites across the country. Last year, this one-of-a-kind capability supported 4,700 events, trained 9,600 war fighters and fulfilled over 20,000 training requirements, providing a significant cost savings to the Department of Defense training budget.

In Sioux City, the 185th Air Refueling Wing built on its outstanding record by winning the Airlift Tanker Association's Maj. Gen. Stanley F.H. Newman Award for being the best tanker wing in the country.

They deployed 370 airmen in support of contingency operations at 24 overseas and two stateside locations including two simultaneous deployments to Al Udeid Air Force Base in Qatar and Anderson Air Force Base in Guam. As one of the first Air National Guard units tasked to support hostilities occurring in Libya, they flew nearly 590 hours during 65 missions in which they provided more than two million pounds of fuel to aircraft supporting Operations Odyssey Dawn and Unified Protector.

They conducted three, two-week Aero-Medical Evacuations missions out of Bagram Air Field. helping to evacuate 177 wounded warriors from combat operations in Afghanistan. They also flew three air evacuation missions stateside, safely transporting 75 critical care patients throughout the United States, and executed seven missions in the Pacific theater evacuating more than 100 injured patients from that area.

While we are grateful so many of our Iowa National Guard Warriors have returned home after a busy year of deployments, we must not forget those still recovering from injury or illness related to their mobilizations. More than 100 of our wounded warriors are still receiving medical care, either at military treatment facilities across the country or from health care providers in their local communities. For us, these deployments are not truly over until the last of our wounded Warriors return home. It is our solemn obligation to keep faith with those who served and sacrifice and ensure they receive all the support and assistance they require.

On the domestic response front, we provided Iowa National Guard assistance to combat unprecedented flooding along the Missouri river. While not our largest state response mission, it was by far our longest, lasting more than 100 days. During the course of this emergency, we put nearly 1,000 soldiers and airmen on State Active Duty to assist.

Starting in May, we provided a UH-60 “Blackhawk” helicopter through a mutual-assistance mission to help local authorities place large sandbags in the Dakota Dunes area of Southeastern South Dakota.

In support of the Homeland Security Emergency Management Division, we set up a Joint Task Force and dispatched Iowa National Guard alumni to coordinate with county-level civilian emergency managers and officials. We also dispatched Critical Infrastructure Assessment Teams, which consists of uniformed National Guard personnel familiar with civil constructions topics, to provide assessments on ongoing infrastructure issues.

Starting June 4, levee breaches in Missouri required the mandatory evacuation of 600 citizens from Hamburg, Iowa. We provided helicopter support to place sandbags to shore up the failing levees. On June 10, we provided Iowa Air and Army National Guard personnel to monitor levees in Sioux City and Pottawattamie and Mills Counties. By the mid-August operational peak, we had approximately 284 Guard members on duty to support civil flood response efforts. When five inches of rain and hail in the Council Bluffs area caused local flooding, we provided six high-water tactical vehicles to assist with emergency rescue operations, helping to evacuate 24 children from a school bus stalled in four feet of water, as well as seven people and two pets.

One reason we’ve been able to maintain our position as a national leader among our fellow states is because of our National Guard Educational Assistance Program (N.G.E.A.P.). This critical recruiting and retention tool helps ensure our readiness. Without it, we couldn’t have mustered the necessary personnel to meet all of our overseas and in-state mobilization requirements over the last 15 years. NGEAP is also a great benefit to our soldiers and airmen. Each year approximately 1,100 to 1,200 of our members attend Iowa colleges and universities through this program. It keeps young people here in the state and through their service in the Iowa National Guard helps deepen their Iowa roots. We greatly appreciate the assistance provided by the Governor, the legislature and the Iowa College Student Aid Commission to ensure we help to meet the education needs of our Iowa National Guard Warriors in exchange for their service to our state.

Most of our members come back from deployment and return to what they were doing before they left. They return to work, go back to the farm, enroll in school or pursue new opportunities. However, some find this transition difficult. They may have been unemployed or underemployed before deploying or returned to find their positions eliminated due to the economic downturn. Others may simply want a new challenge after their deployment experience. Whatever the reason, nearly 10 percent of our returning Warriors are looking for work. And we have an obligation to help.

Working with the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (E.S.G.R.) and our Job Connection Education program, we are actively working to assist our soldiers, airmen and their spouses to find gainful employment. We have partnered with Iowa Workforce Development and local human resource management groups to assist our members. Through this process we have developed a one day course designed to assist returning service members searching for work. We assist them with writing resumes and cover letters in order to translate their military experience into meaningful civilian skills. We work on interviewing techniques and practice interviewing skills and we prepare them for job fairs.

Through our partnerships with Iowa Workforce Development, we have placed computers kiosks in our armories to assist our members with finding and applying for job openings. Last October we supported with other state and federal agencies a veterans’ job fair and have begun posting job openings, targeting veterans on websites like the National Guard’s Jobs Connection Education Program and Employer Partnership.

Despite our largest deployment since World War II and the lengthiest state mobilization in recent memory, the Iowa National Guard continued to demonstrate the performance and promise of your hometown military. Regardless of the challenge, we will remain “Always Ready and Always There” for the citizens of our great state and the defense of America.

The future remains uncertain. As the challenges of the last 10 years fade, new ones are sure to emerge. Budget constraints and shifting priorities will impact how we operate and what we are asked to do in the years ahead. Despite these challenges, the Iowa National Guard will remain “Mission Focused and Warrior Ready.”

On behalf of our soldiers, airmen and their families, I want to thank you for this opportunity to provide an assessment of the Iowa National Guard. We are so grateful for the continued support we receive from the general assembly, the governor, lieutenant governor, and the citizens of Iowa.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.

Iowa Red Bull Soldier Awarded Bronze Star

NaMaster Sgt. Todd Eipperle, 46, received a hero's welcome with a Marshalltown, Iowa, parade and ceremony Sat., Sept. 17. A member of a 16-member Embedded Training Team (E.T.T.) in Panjshir Province, Afghanistan, Eipperle was wounded when he responded to a July 2011 attack by a rogue Afghan security officer that killed fellow Iowa Army National Guard soldier Sgt. 1st Class Teryl L. Pasker, 39, and retired Connecticut State Trooper Paul Protzenko, 47. Eipperle shot and killed the assassin, and himself suffered gunshot injuries.

The incident took place in a province considered so secure that U.S. personnel do not typically wear body armor, and drive armored Sport Utility Vehicles (S.U.V.) rather than heavier Army trucks. The shooting also occurred just days or weeks before Eipperle and Pasker were slated to return home with the rest of Iowa's 2nd Brigade Combat Team (B.C.T.), 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division.

See previous Red Bull Rising blog posts about the incident here and here.

Saturday's event included a proclamation from the acting mayor of Marshalltown, declaring "Master Sgt. Todd Eipperle Day," as well as a parade and ceremony attended by hundreds. Boy and Cub Scouts featured prominently throughout--in his civilian career, Eipperle is District Director for the Boy Scouts of America's Mid-Iowa Council. Before the Marshalltown crowd, Eipperle was presented a Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service during his Afghan tour. Previously, he had been presented the Purple Heart during a hospital stay in Germany. He continues to be on active-duty orders at Fort Riley, Kansas pending medical release, His family anticipates he will be home full-time by mid-October.

Media coverage of the Saturday event included:

• "Iowa Guardsman to receive Bronze Star for heroism today," Des Moines (Iowa) Register, Sept. 17, 2011

• "A hero returns: Eipperle awarded Bronze Star at hometown ceremony," Marshalltown (Iowa) Times-Republican, Sept. 18, 2011

• "Celebration for Hometown Hero," WOI-TV5, Des Moines, Iowa, Sept. 17, 2011 (article and video)

• "Hero's Welcome: Marshalltown pays tribute to an Iowa soldier wounded in battle," WHO-TV13, Des Moines, Iowa, Sept. 17, 2011 (article and video)

• "Marshalltown soldier welcomed home," KCCI-TV8, Des Moines, Iowa, Sept. 17, 2011 (video)

Updates on Iowa Soldier's Death, Funeral

The July 10 incident in Sgt. 1st Class Terryl L. Pasker, 39, of Cedar Rapids was shot and killed by a uniformed member of the Afghan intelligence police didn't immediately end with the death of his assailant.

Pasker and uniformed U.S. civilian law enforcement contractor Paul Protzenko of Enfield, Conn., were each killed the morning of July 12, when the Afghan officer stopped their armored pick-up truck at an impromptu traffic control point in Panjshir Province. The driver of another U.S. vehicle, Master Sgt. Todd Eipperle, 46, returned fire, killing the Afghan assailant.

The incident was far from over, however. In a July 14 article, soldiers on the ground told the Des Moines (Iowa) Register's Tony Leys that a mob soon gathered, threatening the U.S. soldiers as they attempted to medically evacuate their casualties:

[Lt. Col Tim Glynn] and a handful of other soldiers had been following in two vehicles a few minutes behind the first two trucks. By the time the second group arrived on the scene, outraged villagers had gathered and were yelling at the Americans. The gunman was from their village, and the villagers might not have understood that he had started the gun battle that led to his death, Glynn said. The villagers threatened to fetch guns and rocket-propelled grenades and attack the rest of the Americans.

Afghan police did little to help quell the crowd, and they urged the Iowa commander to move his soldiers out of the area. Glynn said he refused, and summoned medical evacuation helicopters to the scene. While two of his soldiers prepared a landing zone, Glynn and four others fended off a crowd of 150 to 200 screaming villagers for the 20 to 30 minutes it took for the helicopters to arrive.

Eipperle was himself shot during the incident, and, according to a July 18 update from the Des Moines Register, is back in the United States. Eipperle lives in Marshalltown, Iowa.

Funeral services for Pasker are to be held today, Mon., July 18, 10:30 a.m. at the River of Life Ministries, 3801 Blairs Ferry Rd. NE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. A graveside service will immediately follow, Mount Calvary Cemetery, 375 32nd St. SE, Cedar Rapids.

The funeral takes place during a week in which the 3,200 soldiers of 2nd Brigade Combat Team (B.C.T.), 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division (2-34th BCT) continue to depart from Afghanistan, out-process from federal active-duty in Wisconsin, and arrive home to Iowa, Nebraska, and other states. All of Iowa's Red Bull troops are anticipated to arrive home not later than early August.

Iowa Red Bull Soldier Killed in Panjshir

Just days or weeks away from his return from a yearlong deployment, Iowa Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Terryl L. Pasker, 39, of Cedar Rapids was killed approximately 9:30 a.m. Afghan time, Sat., July 9 when an Afghan National Directorate of Security (N.D.S.) trooper opened fire on Pasker's vehicle while it was stopped at a traffic control point. The incident took place in Darah District of Panjshir Province near a construction project site. An unidentified U.S. civilian law enforcement professional ("LEP") in Pasker's vehicle was also killed.

Iowa National Guard officials announced Pasker's death at a July 10 press conference at Camp Dodge, Iowa.

Master Sgt. Todd Eipperle of Marshalltown, Iowa, was also injured during the attack. As the driver of a vehicle that preceded Pasker's through the traffic control point, Eipperle reportedly stopped his vehicle when shots were fired, exited his vehicle to return fire and killed Pasker's assailant. The attack is under investigation.

The New York Times reported on the incident here.

Eipperle is receiving treatment at an Army medical facility in Afghanistan. He is a member of Headquarters Company, 2nd Brigade Combat Team (B.C.T.), 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division, which is headquartered in Boone.

Pasker is a member of Bravo Company, 334th Brigade Support Battalion, headquartered in Cedar Rapids. Assigned as an electronic maintenance supervisor, he was serving in Panjshir as part a small Embedded Training Team (E.T.T.) that advises, mentors, and assists Afghan police. An Iowa National Guard spokesman said Sunday that Pasker owned a contracting business in Eastern Iowa, and brought a hardworking "construction mentality" to his work in Panjshir. Part of his military duties involved monitoring contractor performance on coalition-funded projects.

Pansjhir is traditionally celebrated as one of the safest provinces in Afghanistan, a place in which U.S. military personnel do not typically wear helmets and body armor. (Locals take great pride in the security of their region--neither the Soviets nor the Taliban were able to effectively penetrate the province--and are said to take offense at any suggestion that guests in their valley are not safe.) Also, U.S. personnel in Panjshir routinely travel in unarmed-but-armored pickup trucks or SUVs, rather than Mine-Resistant Ambushed-Protected (M-RAP, pronounced "em-rap") vehicles more familiar to other parts of the country.

Earlier this year, U.S. state department officials in Panjshir anticipated that the province would be wholly "transitioned" to Afghan responsibility as early as Fall 2011.

Pasker had previously deployed to Afghanistan in 2004-2005. He is survived by a wife, his mother and father, one brother, and two sisters. He and his wife reportedly planned to start a family following his pending 2012 retirement from the Iowa Army National Guard. Funeral arrangements are pending.

Eipperle, the senior enlisted officer for Task Force Red Bulls' training team in Panjshir, is in his civilian career the District Director of the Mid-Iowa Council of the Boy Scouts of America. In January, he connected via videoconference Cub Scout Pack 182 in Iowa with an Afghan National Police (A.N.P.) officer in Panjshir. The policeman shared some insights about Afghan life, and taught the scouts some words in the Dari language.

"When I thanked Captain [Sefat] Mire for doing this for our boys, he simply replied, 'It's something I will remember forever,'" Eipperle said at the time.

Iowa Red Bull Soldier Killed in Kapisa Province

Staff Sgt. James A. Justice, 32, of Grimes, Iowa, was killed approximately 10 a.m. Sat., April 23 when the helicopter-borne Quick Reaction Force (Q.R.F.) of which he was a member came under small-arms fire in Afghanistan's Kapisa Province. The small force had been attempting to secure the crash site of a 2-person OH-58 "Kiowa" scout helicopter assigned to another U.S. Army unit. Also injured in the attack was Spc. Zachary H. Durham, 21, of Des Moines. Both are members to Alpha Troop, 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment (1-113th Cav.), an Iowa National Guard unit headquartered in Camp Dodge, Johnston, Iowa.

The 1-113th Cav. is part of the 3,000-soldier deployment to Afghanistan of the Iowa National Guard's 2nd Brigade Combat Team (B.C.T.), 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division (2-34th BCT). As "Task Force Red Bulls," most of the 2-34th BCT is responsible for helping the Afghan government, military, and police secure the provinces of Parwan, Panjshir, and Laghman, as well as portions of others. Some units deployed with 2-34th BCT deployed have been assigned under other task forces and other provinces, but Kapisa is not one of them.

Coalition forces operating in Eastern Afghanistan, to include Task Force Red Bulls, are assigned under the active-duty Army's 101st Airborne Division, which operates as "Combined Joint Task Force-101" (C.J.T.F.-101). According to the CJTF-101 website, Kapisa Province is the responsibility of Task Force La Fayette, comprising French coalition forces.

According to Iowa National Guard officials at a Sunday night press conference at Camp Dodge, the Alpha Troop soldiers had earlier conducted a patrol in the Parwan security zone surrounding Bagram Air Field ("BAF"), when CJTF-101 requested soldiers to immediately secure a Kiowa scout helicopter that had made a "hard landing" in Kapisa Province. The cause of that landing is still under investigation. The Iowa soldiers were assigned the QRF mission because they were "readily available" at Bagram Air Field, said Iowa National Guard spokesman Col. Greg Hapgood.

While guard officials were unable to characterize either the type of weapons or the intensity of the attack that killed Justice and injured Durham, they did say that Justice died at the scene. After the QRF traveled from Bagram to the crash site via UH-60 "Blackhawk" helicopters, landed, and came under attack, "pathfinders" trained in establishing landing zones were dispatched from 101st Airborne Division and inserted into an area south of the crash site. Air Force pararescuemen were also dispatched and inserted near or onto the site.

According to Iowa guard officials, a U.S. Air Force A-10 "Warthog" and additional armed U.S. Army Kiowa helicopters arrived to eliminate the immediate enemy threat. Justice was reportedly killed and Durham wounded while moving off their landing zone, which at the time was considered "hot" and still under fire. Durham has since been evacuated to Craig Joint Theater Hospital, Bagram Air Field. His injuries were not specified by officials.

Justice is a 13-year veteran of the Iowa National Guard, and deployed to Afghanistan with the 2-34th BCT only last February. "One of his goals was to get on this deployment," said Sgt. 1st Class Kevin Schaefer at Sunday evening's press conference. "He wanted to get into the fight." Prior to mobilization, he was employed full-time by the Iowa National Guard, and Schaefer had been his supervisor. Schaefer described Justice as level-headed, hard-working, and easy to talk with. "He had an ability to lead soldiers and have them follow."

Justice had previously deployed to Kuwait (2001), Egypt's Sinai Peninsula (2003-2004), and Iraq (2005-2006).

Justice is survived by his wife, Amanda Jo, and a 3-year-old daughter Caydence Lillian, of Grimes; his father and mother, Larry and Lillian Justice, brother Kenny Justice, sisters Denise Christensen and Christy (Kevin) Lingle of Manilla.

A family statement released via the Iowa National Guard reads in part:

James Alan Justice meant many things to every person he encountered. He was the funny best friend named "Juice" that could be counted on when needing to be cheered up; the uncle who always knew just what to say and when to hand out hugs; the son who was his parents' pride and joy; the father who loved his little girl more than anything in the world and couldn't wait to have more children; and the husband who loved to put a smile on his wife's face.

Funeral arrangements for Justice are pending.

Earlier this month, two other Iowa National Guard "Red Bull" soldiers were killed and others wounded in separate combat incidents, and in different Afghan provinces.

Iowa Newspaper Team Arrives Downrange

Despite yesterday's Red Bull Rising blog post, the Omaha World-Herald isn't the only newspaper with a team in Red Bull territory. This week, the Des Moines (Iowa) Register's writer Tony Leys and photographer Rodney White have reportedly arrived in Afghanistan's Paktiya Province, where they'll begin their on-the-ground coverage of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team (B.C.T.), 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division (2-34th BCT) troops deployed there since November 2010.

The Register's "Iowa National Guard" blog has long appeared in the Red Bull Rising blog-roll, at right. Leys and White will continue to update the blog with snapshots of soldierly life, duty, and downtime downrange. There's an improved graphic interface featuring the newspaper's past and present coverage of the deployment here. Readers can also follow some of the newspaper's deployment coverage via Facebook here.

Paktiya Province is the area of operation for 1st Battalion, 168th Infantry Regiment (1-168th Inf.), headquartered in Council Bluffs.

Unlike other 2-34th BCT units, which are operating at "Task Force Red Bulls" in Parwan, Panjshir, Laghman, and other contiguous provinces, the Council Bluffs unit falls under Task Force Duke, an active-duty organization centered on the guidon of 3rd BCT, 1st Infantry Division (3-1st BCT), of Fort Knox, Kent. Previously in the Iowa National Guard deployment, 1-168th Inf. answered to the 3rd BCT, 101st Airborne Division's (3-101st BCT) Task Force Rakkasan.

While still settling into his own reportorial rhythm, Leys seems to be picking up on a typically Iowan confident-but-cautious vibe. Take for example, this excerpt of his Mar. 16 report:

The battalion’s commander, Lt. Col. Steve Boesen, said the next few months will be a major test of American and Afghan government efforts to protect civilians from the Taliban. “I think we’re going to see some of the heaviest fighting we’ve ever seen in Afghanistan this summer,” he said. “And my guys will be at the tip of the spear.”

However, several soldiers said they don’t want folks back home to get an exaggerated impression of the violence they face.

Armored trucks have hit roadside bombs, and Iowa platoons have been in a few firefights. “But it’s not like we’re storming the beaches of Normandy every day,” said Spec. Josh Gottschalk, a medic from Minden.

Making Connections: Events, Terrain, Media, Families

Next week, I plan to return to working through my notes from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team (B.C.T.), 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division's (2-34th BCT) pre-Afghan training rotation at Fort Irwin, Calif. In the present-day, however, there are a number of recent media reports worthy of note.

As many of you are aware, the Red Bull has been on the move. Some units launched directly into Afghanistan from California. Others returned temporarily to the mobilization station of Camp Shelby, Miss. According to previously published press reports, all 2-34th BCT units are expected to be in country by the upcoming U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.

According to the Nov. 11 Des Moines Register, the soldiers of Iowa's 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry "Ironman" Regiment (1/133rd Inf.) have hit the ground running in Afghanistan's Laghman Province. During a recent patrol to meet a local Afghan leader, Ironman soldiers engaged insurgent forces and captured one Taliban leader. The engagement included use of mortar fire and close-air support ("CAS," pronounced "kaz"). Guess all that training in the Mojave paid off.

It's important to remember that political and military conditions can vary greatly even between one Afghan valley and the next, much less between one province and another. In other words, don't read too much into adjacencies.

However, Laghman does share a short border with Kunar Province--the location of Iowa's 734th Agribusiness Development Team (734th A.D.T.)--the "Dirt Warriors." Kunar is also the general location of the 2007 events depicted in the documentary "Restrepo," which is to be released on DVD next month, as well as the books "War" and "Infidel." If you're looking at pictures from any of these sources, MAYBE you're looking at similar conditions, peoples, and terrain to that of Laghman.

Not all the Red Bulls are heading straight into a fight, however. Supporting October comments by the commander of 101st Airborne Division, the commander of Vermont's 86th Brigade Combat Team (86th B.C.T.) indicated that conditions in three other eastern Afghan provinces--Parwan, Panjshir, and Bamiyan--are secure enough to potentially warrant transition to Afghan control.

The 86th BCT, "Task Force Wolverine," is currently transitioning these provinces to the 2-34th BCT, "Task Force Red Bull."

According to a National Guard Bureau press release earlier this week:

"In Panjshir, they just opened up a marble mine factory that is really providing a lot of revenue as well as jobs for the locals," [Col. William Roy, commander 86th BCT] said. Tourism signs are beginning to pop up in Bamyan, he added. The future of Afghanistan lies in small business, Roy said.

"When I was here in 2002, when you went from Kabul to Bagram, there was virtually nothing on the road," he told reporters. "Now, in about an hour-long drive, you get the development all the way along -- businesses growing up, gas stations on the side of the road."

Afghanistan's ability to self-govern is moving slowly, but steadily, Roy said, noting that Bamyan has Afghanistan's only female governor, representing the Hazara population. Panjshir's ministry of agriculture put together a budget, sent it to the central government and received the budget back to put in place in the province, he added. [...]

"The governors that we have in all three of our provinces understand what the requirements are to oversee the needs of the people," Roy said.

"It's the Afghans who are leading the way," he added. "And it's been that way for quite some time."

In related news, the Burlington (Vermont) Free Press reported Wednesday that Roy had indicated "security for two of the provinces under the responsibility of Task Force Wolverine — Panjshir and Bamyan — was turned over to Afghan forces in the past month, a sign of stability in the region. Parwan province, where Bagram Airfield is based, should follow suit soon."

Other connections to be made:

Cedar Rapids, Iowa's KCRG-TV9/The Gazette multimedia reporting team has added an RSS feed to its continued "Operation Enduring Freedom" blog coverage of the 2-34th BCT's mobilization and deployment. If you use a news reader, you know how useful this is for keeping up on the latest.

The KCRG-TV9 team also recently aired two additional reports regarding the Red Bull's training and subsequently deployment from California. Check them out here and here. Consider that your Fort Irwin fix for the day.

Des Moines-area WHO-TV13 has continued its coverage of the Red Bull homefront with its "Iowans at War" series, including stories regarding how families are coping with separations caused by the deployment.

While Steve Hartkopf has been deployed, his wife Sophie Hartkopf has given birth to their first child. (Both Steve and Sophie, by the way, are Iowa National Guard soldiers.) The baby now rocks to sleep to the recorded sounds of Steve's electric guitar.

In other recent "Iowans at War" story, Christine Refsland musters three kids everyday while husband Nik is deployed. The kids try to help each other out where they can, but it's controlled chaos. "My daughters are twelve, eight and four, all going on 16," Nik says in the report.

Text and video at links, above. The amount of helpful, insightful, and friendly media attention being focused on our Red Bull soldiers and families is gratifying. Please check it out when you get a chance.