Salem-News.com Iraq Coverage articles

Interview With Afghan War Pilot Serving in Iraq (VIDEO)

Tim King interviews an Oregon Guard pilot serving in Iraq who flew numerous missions in the war in Afghanistan.

(BALAD, Iraq) - Countless Americans in uniform are serving repeated combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. Captain John Hoffman is one of the people from the Oregon National Guard aviation unit that I was embedded with in Iraq this past summer. In fact, John was my contact person with the squadron.

Interview with Interpreter Based with Marines in Iraq (VIDEO)

A Jordanian interpreter who works with the Marines in Iraq's Anbar Province gives a candid interview about his experience.

(ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq) - I met a gentleman named Jakope Al Salim in Iraq while spending time with the Marines at the Al Asad Air Base in the Anbar Province. These Marines normally work on airplanes, but in Iraq where there is a shortage of personnel, they have been pulling infantry and military police duty and operating the base entrances and exits.

Jakope has worked with Marines in a number of places including Al Asad and Fallujah. At this time he is working with Marines near the Iraq/Saudi Arabia border. He says Iraqi people are increasingly working with and placing trust in the Marines. Last summer when I was there, combat encounters were minimal and cooperation was increasing.

But things are changing. He says the election of Barack Obama has caused many Iraqi people to feel unsure about their future.

Oregon Guard Night Crew Mission in Iraq (VIDEO)

Oregon Guard soldiers assigned to an aviation support mission for the next year gain confidence in their roles.

(BALAD, Iraq) - Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan have a seven day a week job with few exceptions. Members of an Oregon National Guard aviation support group stationed at Camp Anaconda at Balad, Iraq, are a shining example of those whose operation never rests.

In fact, the Oregon Guard 2/641 Aviation Support Group is in charge of the flight missions of two types of aircraft; the C-23 Sherpa transport plane and the "White Birds" which are the C-12 and Citation jet.

The Army's motto is "We Own the Night" and aviation is one specific area where operational tempo often increases after the sun falls. Flying slow, lumbering aircraft like the Sherpa can be dangerous during the day when enemy fire from the ground can inflict serious damage. At night, Iraq's temperatures are also reduced so the stress on the airplane is less.

Iraqis Who Worked With Americans Killed by Masked Gunmen

The killing times out with a call by radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr for Americans to end the military occupation of Iraq.

(SALEM, Ore.) - Five Iraqis were shot and killed in an attack by masked gunmen Saturday near the Balad Air Base north of Baghdad.

An Iraq War Veterans` Welcome Home to Remember (SLIDESHOW)

Salem-News.com photojournalist Tim King has returned from Iraq, where he spent several weeks embedded with an Oregon Guard unit. Along the way he witnessed a hero's welcome at the Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport for soldiers and Marines returning home from Iraq.

(DALLAS, Tx.) - It isn't often that a legacy can change.

The sound of clapping hands is an unexpected greeting for soldiers and Marines returning home from the war in Iraq. Too many stories about mistreated Vietnam vets leave an expectation of something totally different.

In fact, it takes a moment for these troops returning home on the military R&R flights to even comprehend the idea of dozens and dozens of people gathered there to simply welcome them home, but that is what happens almost every day at the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport in Texas.

Marine Military Police Beat at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq (VIDEO)

Marine Corps Military Police have their hands full with a never ending list of tasks necessary for war zone security.

(Al Asad, Iraq) - Marine Corps military police in Iraq have a never ending yet ever changing job description. In one day here at the Al Asad Air Base in the Anbar Province, I will see these Marine MPs search base housing units of foreign employees, inspect commercial trucks that deliver supplies here, operate a traffic check point, and even search a FedEx jet delivering supplies to Iraq.

Most of these Marine MP's are actually from aviation roles, but a shortage of Marines has them performing jobs more closely related to security.

Iraqi Village Recovers From Deadly Car Bomb Attack (VIDEO)

After a car bomb kills 30 people in this village, the U.S. Army and Iraqi Police formulate plans to increase patrols.

(AL DUJAIL, Iraq) - American soldiers enter this town cautiously today. Just days earlier, a VBID- Vehicle Borne Explosive Device, ripped through a supermarket, killing 32 people and injuring as many as 50.

1st Lt. Mike Hammand with the Army's 101st Airborne explained what happened.

"An unknown insurgent comes up and brings the vehicle, either targeting the IP station across the street or the market. Detonates the vehicle right around 18:00, the time when most people have stopped fasting for Ramadan and have gone to the market, or restaurants around the market area to eat dinner, or get food for dinner, and blew the vehicle up."

Unusual Observations From the War in Iraq

A list of unexpected and offbeat sights and sounds from the Iraq war theater.

(BALAD, Iraq) - Most of the people I have met who are serving in Iraq at this time are professional and on task. They perform their roles without complaint and almost all work long and hard hours, regardless of what they do.

Vietnam War Pilot Serving in Iraq Has Seen Many Changes (VIDEO)

An Oregon National Guard officer talks about his life as a Vietnam War helicopter pilot still serving in the military, currently deployed in Balad, Iraq in an air support role.

(BALAD, Iraq) - The world was different in 1969 when Barry Brown enlisted in the U.S. Army with a goal of flying helicopters. His dream was realized, and it led to Barry serving ten months as a Huey pilot in Vietnam.

Could Removal of U.S. Support Shift Iraq`s Peaceful Balance? (VIDEO)

Inside Iraq: Lessons in what happens when a nation stops paying its former enemies.

(ABU FADOOZ, Iraq) - Today's patrol will lead us to a village called Abu Fadooz, an Iraqi community that has become more stable in recent months, thanks largely most agree, to the money the United States began providing for Iraqi militias, to conduct security checkpoints referred to here in Iraq as CLC's.

Using tools like the AK-47 automatic assault rifle, the Sons of Iraq are the men whose presence has led to a steep decline in violence here. But in spite of that success, tens of thousands of these mostly Sunni neighborhood guards, will lose their jobs, as the United States pulls back funding and hands the future of the program back to the Iraqi government.