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• Photo: 101st Air Assault in Afghanistan

  Standing by on a hill top, soldiers with the 101st Division Special Troops Battalion, 101st Airborne Division watch as two Chinook helicopters fly in to take them back to Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, Nov. 4, 2008. The soldiers searched a small village... Posted Nov 16 2008, 10:08 AM by Otto with | with no comments Filed under: helos, Afghanistan, photo

• British Paras fool the Taliban and move massive turbine for Afghanistan Dam project

  h/t to LtCol P @ Opfor here and Matt at Blackfive here . This story in the Times Online tells the fantastic story of an Operation called Tsuka which means Eagles Summit and this operation was designed to move a massive turbine to the Kajaki Dam, one of... Posted Sep 04 2008, 03:55 PM by Otto with | with no comments Filed under: Afghanistan, Britis troops

• Celebrity justice and our troops overseas: a free idea for judges everywhere

  Two of the main ways our troops get the news over here is "Stars and Stripes" newspaper, a semi-independant newspaper published by the military and Armed Force Radio and Television Sevice, AFRTS. I read and watched both hungrily when I was stationed... Posted Apr 12 2008, 08:17 PM by Otto with | with no comments Filed under: Iraq, Afghanistan, Hollywood

• Welcome Blackfive readers!

  Thanks to Uncle Jimbo for the link and welcome B5 readers. One alibi to his link, the article is about the 173rd Airborne and I didn't mean to imply any of our troops were out of control. Please take a look around, this is not your usual kind of blog... Posted Feb 25 2008, 01:02 PM by Otto with | with no comments Filed under: Excalibur, Afghanistan, Blackfive

• Elizabeth Rubin writes of our troops in Afghanistan: Pulitzer, Movie deal and Hardball appearance to follow

  I have just quickly read through Elizabeth Rubin’s recent article “A Bloody Stalemate in Afghanistan, ” published, but of course, by the New York Times Magazine, the American military’s most reliable observer, reliable that is, that everything we do is... Posted Feb 23 2008, 12:32 PM by Otto with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: Afghanistan, MSM, NYTimes, Hollywood, Hardball, US Army

• A bed, a bunker, and a dishka, what more can a man want? Congressman Jim Marshall visits Special Forces in Afghanistan

  The Dshka is the Russian equivalent of the .50 caliber machine gun and is a quite effective weapon. The title quote comes from a superb article in this month’s Special Operations Technology by Congressman Jim Marshall , Democrat from Georgia’s 8 th District... Posted Feb 20 2008, 09:34 PM by Otto with | with no comments Filed under: COIN, Afghanistan, Congress

• 380 F-22's for the Air Force? How about a little Irregular Warfare action instead?

  It’s been an interesting couple of days for Air Force news. In recent developments for the US Air Force, General Bruce Carlson of the Air Force Material Command has said the Air Force is “committed to funding 380” F-22 stealthy fighter planes, which is... Posted Feb 15 2008, 12:17 AM by Otto with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Iraq, Afghanistan, USAF, COIN aircraft 2, F-22

• Tri-service Friday Fun Photos: Our military working the human element abroad

  U.S. Army Lt. Col. Phillip Wilson (right) talks with key council members and sheiks during a conference in Taji, Iraq, on Jan. 10, 2008. Wilson is the commander of 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division... Posted Feb 01 2008, 05:15 PM by Otto with | with no comments Filed under: Iraq, Afghanistan, friday fun photos, HOA

• Friday Fun Photos: Building capacity for Afghanistan, one cold and lonely outpost at a time

  Click on the photos for some spectacular images Army Sgt. Carlos Bell, Bravo Company, 864th Engineer Battalion, Fort Lewis, Wash., nails the wall for a bunker at an outpost in the middle of the Afghanistan mountains Jan. 15. Spc. Nathan Waddell and Spc... Posted Jan 24 2008, 11:11 PM by Otto with | with no comments Filed under: Afghanistan, friday fun photos, CJTF-82

• Hank Crumpton, a real legendary CIA "operative" discusses the way ahead, and he's not on the cover of Vanity Fair

  H/t Small Wars Journal here . This is some of the best commentary I’ve seen in years on the way ahead. Hank Crumpton , who I’ve never had the pleasure or honor of working with or even meeting, was the primary CIA Case Officer who went into Afghanistan... Posted Jan 20 2008, 04:28 PM by Otto with | with no comments Filed under: CIA, Afghanistan, GWOT

• Friday Fun Photos: Afghanistan by day and night

  Afghanistan by day (Army photo courtesy of CJTF-82) Kabul by night (Courtesy of NATO-ISAF) Posted Jan 17 2008, 11:06 PM by Otto with | with no comments Filed under: Afghanistan, friday fun photos

• The time is now: Excalibur presents the counterinsurgency airship, a current day Battlestar Galactica!

  h/t to Noah Shactman and Danger Room here . There appears to be a resurgence in interest, or at least proposals for, airships . I cannot for the life of me figure out why someone can’t get the idea of a military airship to work. Over the years, as I’ve... Posted Jan 07 2008, 04:32 PM by Otto with | with no comments Filed under: Afghanistan, UAV, COIN aircraft 2, airship

• Friday Fun Photo: Band of Brothers, 82nd Airborne and their Afghan students serve together

  The Mortarmen of the 203rd Corps Afghan National Army (ANA) and 3-73rd Cavalry, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division work together on several forward operating bases in Paktika. Eastern Afghanistan. Posted Jan 04 2008, 11:45 PM by Otto with | with no comments Filed under: Afghanistan

• Happy New Year to all of our readers, best of luck to our troops worldwide

  BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan –Army Sgt. Kevin Quinones, guitarist for Level 82, part of the 82nd Airborne Division’s All-American Band, tears up the stage during a News Year’s Celebrations Dec. 31 here. Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines enjoyed live... Posted Jan 01 2008, 05:54 PM by Otto with | with no comments Filed under: Afghanistan

• Friday Fun Photos: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs takes some friends on a USO tour

  The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs is on a swing through across the world taking USO entertainers to visit the troops. The photos that follow are from the DOD website here and this article by JASON STRAZIUSO from the AP describes some of the trip which... Posted Dec 21 2007, 05:47 PM by Otto with | with no comments Filed under: Afghanistan, friday fun photos, Chairman JCS, USO