U.S. CENTCOM TELLS REPORTERS THINGS WILL 'CONTINUE TO EBB AND FLOW'

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Centcom Officials ‘Confident’ Iraqi Security Forces Will Recover Ramadi
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, May 20, 2015 – The loss of Ramadi is a setback, but U.S. Central Command officials are confident Iraqi security forces will take back the city in the near term, a Centcom spokesman said today.

During a conference call with Pentagon reporters, Air Force Col. Patrick Ryder provided an update on current operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in the combatant command’s areas of responsibility.

“From our perspective,” he said, “what happened at Ramadi was a setback -- certainly concerning, but the fact is it’s a tough fight. As we’ve said before, there’s going to be good days and bad days, and things will continue to ebb and flow.”

“We are confident that the Iraqis, with coalition support, will recover Ramadi,” Ryder said. “We will continue to work closely with the government of Iraq and Iraqi security force leadership as they plan their next move to take back the city.”

Success in Other Areas

Ryder pointed out Iraqi security forces have had success fighting in other areas of the country and said Ramadi is “one piece of a larger fight.”

Looking at the overall situation in Iraq, he said, security forces have achieved some “good effects” in simultaneous operations in Karmah, Tikrit and Baghdadi and while providing security in support of the Kadhimiya pilgrimage.

“In the north, the Peshmerga continue to conduct effective combat operations,” Ryder said. “Kurdish fighters in northeast Syria have done very well, and really represent a hostile force in ISIL’s backyard that has caused them some significant problems there.”

The colonel emphasized he was not minimizing the significance of the setback in Ramadi, nor suggesting it was not important.

“Every square inch of Iraq is important, and liberating every square inch of territory occupied by ISIL is important,” Ryder said. “But again, I’d ask you to look at the bigger picture here. Understand that combat is not always linear, and there will be setbacks, and there will be victories."

With a 60-nation coalition backing the Iraqis as they lead this fight, Ryder said there is confidence that they will retain the momentum against ISIL, and ultimately, defeat them.

U.S.-trained Iraqi Forces

Ryder noted 7,000 U.S.-trained Iraqi security forces have graduated and returned to the field -- primarily in the north and the south of Iraq, where they have conducted “effective” operations.

“They have performed as you would expect an army infantry maneuver unit to perform -- exercising good command and control in the field,” he said.

Of note, Ryder said none of those forces were at Ramadi, but “we have seen that the forces that have graduated have done well.”

“We are continuing to work with Iraq to help their forces develop and regenerate their combat capability,” he said, “and so in the days ahead, it will be important for the [Iraqi security forces] to continue to keep pressure on ISIL.”

Through training, the advise-and-assist mission, building partner capacity sites and coalition air power efforts, Ryder said, “we’re confident that we have the right strategy at this time to degrade and defeat ISIL.”

WOUNDED WARRIOR IS DOUBLE ARM TRANSPLANT PATIENT

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
DOD Program Gives New Hope to Double Arm Transplant Patient
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Jan. 30, 2013 - As a wounded warrior who lost all four limbs in Iraq shared news of his successful double-arm transplant yesterday, officials at the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine, which funded the research making it possible, say the investment will continue to bear fruit in giving new hope to wounded warriors.

Army Spc. Brendan Marrocco appeared yesterday with his medical team, led by Dr. W.P. Andrew Lee, chair of Johns Hopkins Hospital's plastic and reconstructive surgery department, to announce the successful Dec. 18 double transplant at the Baltimore hospital.

"I really don't know what to say, because it is such a big thing for my life," 26-year-old Marrocco told reporters as he demonstrated his ability to move his new left arm. His right arm has limited movement, but Marrocco said he's hoping to get more soon.

Standing proudly alongside other members of the surgical team was one of his surgeons, Navy Lt. Cmdr. (Dr.) Patrick L. Basile of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. Basile is assistant chief and director of microsurgery and supervisor for rotating medical students at Walter Reed's plastic and reconstructive surgery department.

Marrocco, who enlisted in the Army in January 2008, deployed to Iraq nine months later with the 25th Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade, Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 27th Regiment. He and his fellow soldiers had completed a night mission and were returning to Forward Operating Base Summerall on April 12, 2009, when their armored vehicle has hit by an explosively formed projectile -- a roadside bomb designed specifically to pierce armor.

The explosion, which severed Marrocco's carotid artery and severed all of his limbs, also killed one soldier and wounded another.

Quickly medevaced through Iraq to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany and on to Walter Reed, Marrocco became one of the first quadruple amputees of the conflict to survive his wounds.

He had been wearing prosthetic limbs before the 13-hour surgery, the first of its kind at Johns Hopkins and only the seventh in the United States. His rehabilitation will continue for years, his surgical team explained, as his nerves slowly regenerate – one inch per month – and he gains the ability to use and control the arms and hands.

"I feel like I got a second chance to start over after I got hurt," Marrocco told reporters yesterday. "If feels amazing. It's something I was waiting for for a long time."

Excitement about the successful transplant, and its implications for other wounded warriors, rippled through the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command at Fort Detrick, Md., home of the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine. The Defense Department launched AFIRM in 2008 to advance research to treat wounded warriors suffering traumatic injuries, explained Army Col. (Dr.) John Scherer, director of the clinical and rehabilitative medicine research program.

One of the goals was to promote transplant procedures that were being conducted overseas, but typically not in the United States, he said. "We wanted to move the scientific field forward to make this an option, not only for wounded service members, but for anyone who may benefit from such a surgery," Scherer said.

Five years after AFIRM was established, Scherer said, he's excited to see that effort pay off in ways that can transform people's lives.

"This goes to the commitment we have to always do our best to do whatever we can to improve the care they get," he said. "This is pushing the boundaries of clinical medicine to improve on that care," he added, particularly when compared with options available just a few years ago.

AFIRM stands as a testament to America's pledge to stand by its wounded warriors, Scherer said.

"It is our duty to do whatever we can to repair these very severe injuries, to push the boundaries of medicine and to say, 'What we are doing currently is not good enough until we can actually restore the function of the tissue of the hand or arm that was lost,'" he said. "That is our main goal: to make that individual whole again and to do whatever we can, medically, to get there."

AFIRM is managed and funded through the Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, with additional funding from the Navy's Office of Naval Research, the Air Force Surgeon General's Office; the Department of Defense Office of Health Affairs; National Institutes of Health and the Veterans Affairs Department.

Their initial $100 million investment, spread over five years, has nearly tripled with local public and private matching funds, Scherer said.

U.S. AIR FORCE SPACE COMMAND COMMEMORATES AIRMAN'S DEATH IN IRAQ

FROM: U.S AIR FORCE SPACE COMMAND

Members of Peterson Air Force Base do "burpees" (an up-down exercise with a push-up) while participating in the Airman 1st Class LeeBernard E. Chavis memorial workout Oct. 16. The workout is an annual event continued by Chavis' friends world-wide to commemorate his death on Oct. 14, 2006, in the streets near Baghdad, Iraq. U.S. Air Force photo by SSgt Christopher Boitz

Pain felt around the world

by Capt. Tamara Fischer-Carter
Air Force Space Command Public Affairs
10/17/2012 - PETERSON AFB, Colo. -- While many were hitting snooze for the second time, a driven few answered a calling from deep within.

Approximately 40 Air Force members gathered together outside the fitness center here Oct. 16 to commemorate the 6th anniversary of the death of Airman 1st Class LeeBernard E. Chavis in a unique way.

On Oct. 14, 2006, Chavis, a 21-year-old member of the 824th Security Forces Squadron at Moody AFB, Ga., was killed by sniper fire while he tried to keep civilians away from a suspected bomb in the streets near Baghdad.

Chief Master Sgt. Jason France, former 820th Security Forces Group operations superintendent at Moody AFB, now at Hill AFB, Utah, designed the annual Chavis Workout, a CrossFit-style workout that the group did together in Chavis' memory. The Chavis Workout consists of 150 burpees (or an up-down with a push-up), a one mile run and 150 squat thrusts.

This year, former 824th Security Forces member at Moody AFB, Ga., Staff Sgt. Heather Ruhlman, now a 21st Space Wing paralegal, sent out an invite to the workout via Facebook. She was there in Baghdad when Chavis was killed.

"I never thought in 2008 when we first did this workout together that years later we would be doing it at our new homes spread across the world. There are members of the unit who are not even in the military anymore who go and do the workout," Ruhlman said. "It's nice to know so many still take the time out to remember our fallen Ghostwalker."

Ruhlman said that last year 400 people across the globe accepted the workout invitation she sent. This year appears to have garnered a similar response. Among the people attending the workout here were members of security forces, comptroller, judge advocate and public affairs units; and the nearby USAF Academy.

Staff Sgt. Danny Keurtz, 21st Security Forces member, is a regular at the gym and has been doing two-(or more)-a-days in preparation for the event.

"The turn out today was fantastic. Much more than I think anyone expected," said Kuertz. "With everyone there you could tell people were pushing as hard as they could. It was nice to see people pour so much sweat and camaraderie into remembering Airman 1st Class Chavis. I couldn't have been happier to share this experience with everyone there."

1st Lt. Connie Dillon, public affairs officer with Air Force Space Command, participated. "This event was seriously challenging and deep in meaning. It was something that kicked my butt and made me want to quit every second, but I keep going because of what it stands for," said Dillon.

As each person progressed through the workout, they tick-marked their count with chalk on the pavement. They pressed through the workout in mostly respectful silence, while others from around the world wrote "complete," with their location and a message of love to Chavis on a Facebook page created for the event.


"It warms my heart when I see this enormous outpouring of support for the workout," said Ruhlman. "I can't believe the workout has become what it is today. Six years later, it still hurts just like it did on 14 Oct. 2006, but what's uplifting is knowing Chavis is still remembered just as I always hoped and knew he would be."

At the end of the workout everyone understood what the Air Force family means by "proud heritage and legacy of valor." There was no team huddle or cheer, only the symbolic chalk outlines at each person's feet as they mustered what strength they had left to gather drink bottles and cold weather gear.

With solemn expressions like they had just visited Airman Chavis' grave in person, they turned away to carry on the Air Force mission.

THE PROMISED QUICK WAR IN IRAQ

The photo and following excerpt are from the Veterans Health Website:
Iraq’s Far-Reaching Anniversary
March 19, 2012 by Alex Horton
The news said it was supposed to be quick. A matter of weeks, according to some within the government.

It seemed right from where I was sitting on March 19, 2003. I was two months from high school graduation when the bombs fell over Baghdad. I snuck downstairs at night to watch bombs explode in hazy night-vision green on CNN.

My father left the Navy when I was young, but I can remember the stretches of time that he left for duty across the country. The military was practically a family tradition, and I wanted to take part in my generation’s fight. I remember feeling a sense of urgency, that the war might be over by the time I had a chance to fight it. My urge to enlist was outmatched by my years.

No one could tell at the time, but the war wasn’t going to end soon. It managed to stretch into the fall of 2003 and lead to stability operations, then counterinsurgency, and finally a transition to the Iraqi government late last year.

I joined the Army in 2004, and for a good chunk of that time, the war operated in the background, a far flung destination that I trained for every day. It was strange to know exactly when and where I’d be deploying. It wasn’t quite like the way it happened in movies, or for that matter, those who took part in the invasion. Their experience was a confusing roar into Baghdad and the uneasy feeling of insurgency rushing to fill the void of a standing army.

My experience was in the middle of a deployment cycle, like a particular release of Madden video game.

Iraq had my name on it since I was five years old and watched the first Gulf War unfold with my parents. I don’t believe in destiny, but events from that war had consequences more than a decade later, on a collision course with my desire to serve. But I couldn’t be more oblivious as I watched Baghdad light up twice in twelve years, never knowing that one day I’d sleep in buildings long destroyed by American missiles.