Iraq Blog:  January 2007

The following news items are taken from the Blog web site
of the 2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division Commandos

SATURDAY, JANUARY 06, 2007
Golden Dragons Mourn Fallen Comrade

2 PHOTOS
Spc. Chris McCann
2nd BCT PAO, 10th Mtn. Div. (LI)

   PATROL BASE WARRIOR KEEP, Iraq - Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (LI) mourned fallen comrade, Sgt. Jason Denfrund, Jan.1 in a ceremony at Patrol Base Warrior Keep, Iraq.
   Denfrund was killed Dec. 25 in an improvised explosive device explosion on a road south of Baghdad. He was a native of Springville, N.Y.
   Denfrund, a team leader in Company B, 2-14, graduated from the University of Buffalo where he had played linebacker on the football team. The Soldiers of his unit remembered his affection for the team – which could become mock rage if the Buffalo Bulls were criticized.
   He also was “a good family guy,” said his friend, Spc. Anthony Carlson, a native of Oregon City, Ore., and a radio-telephone operator in Co. B.
   Denfrund left behind a wife, Melissa, as well as a daughter, Chloe and a son, Jayden, who reside in Illinois.
“He was a great friend,” Carlson said. “He would help anyone. He came to my wedding last year. …We were basically brothers. Our families would get together on weekends.”
   Carlson recalled spending time with Denfrund, camping in the mountains around Fort Drum, N.Y.
   Staff Sgt. Corey Hollister of Williamsburg, Ohio, a squad leader in Co. B, also spent time with Denfrund. They were in the 2nd Bn., 14th Inf. Regt. together during the unit’s last rotation to Iraq in 2004 and 2005.
   “He was a good guy to hang out with,” he said. “We’d talk about our families and our kids. He was funny, but he was more serious about his job than anything.”
   As a team leader, Denfrund was usually in the front, leading raids and ambushes on anti-Iraqi forces.
   Capt. Palmer Phillips, a native of Swampscott, Mass., commander of Co. B, recalled Denfrund’s humor and compassion as well as his skill in hand-to-hand fighting.
   “I remember …getting crushed by his 240-pound weight,” Phillips said, recalling combatives training at Fort Drum. “We had a good laugh immediately afterward.”
   Phillips also consoled the Soldiers who were with Denfrund after the accident, telling them “I know you did everything you could that day.”
   Denfrund’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart Medal, which were awarded posthumously, an Army Commendation Medal, an Army Achievement Medal, a Good Conduct Medal, a National Defense Service Medal, an Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary and Service medals, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Medal, the Kosovo Defense Medal, the Combat Infantryman’s Badge and the Expert Infantryman’s Badge.
   Carlson was with Denfrund in his last moments.
   “We had a short conversation on the ground that day that he passed away from us,” Carlson said in a voice that threatened to crack. “We never got to finish it.”
  


THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2007
Operation Seizes Two Bomb-Making Suspects

2nd BCT, 10th Mtn. Div. (LI) Public Affairs

   MAHMUDIYAH, Iraq - Two suspected terrorists were detained and improvised explosive device-making materials were found and seized during a joint combat operation in southwest Mahmudiyah, Iraq Jan.7.
   The operation, Operation Tarfa Blitz, was conducted by Soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division and the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry). The operation was intended to disrupt anti-Iraqi forces activity within the area.
   One of the suspects may be linked to previous IED attacks in the area and was found with 34 doorbells, a common item used to fabricate roadside bombs.
   Both suspects are being held for further questioning.
  


THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2007
Golden Dragons Find Large Weapons Cache Near Highway

2nd BCT, 10th Mtn. Div. (LI) Public Affairs

   YUSUFIYAH, Iraq - Iraqi and coalition forces found and seized a large weapons cache during a combat patrol just west of Yusufiyah, Iraq Jan. 15.
   Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment “Golden Dragons,” 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) and the 3rd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division found the cache near a rural road along Mulla Fayad Highway during the operation.
   The cache, which contained a variety of improvised explosive device making items and weapons included six 120mm mortar rounds, a directional charge, five rocket propelled grenade launchers, seven RPG charges, nine RPG rockets, 150 small metal cylinders filled with plastic explosives, 1000 7.62mm rounds, 200 ft. of detonation cord, seven hand grenade fuses, five hand grenade shells, five long-range antennae, 22 transformers, four cordless phones, two cordless phone base stations, two cell phones, 12 cell phone cases with assorted parts and 12 60mm mortar round casings.
   The contents of the cache were found on the side of a road.
   The explosive ordnance team was called to the site and the weapons were destroyed with a controlled detonation.
  


THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2007
Three Detained, Six Caches Found In Operation

PHOTO
2nd BCT, 10th Mtn. Div. (LI) Public Affairs

   YUSUFIYAH, Iraq - Coalition forces detained three suspected terrorists and seized six weapons caches during a two-day combat operation in the Yusufiyah, Iraq area Jan. 10-11.
   Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment “Golden Dragons,” 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) conducted Operation Machete Harvest in order to deny anti-Iraq forces safe haven in the Golden Dragon’s area of operation.
   Of the three detained, two of were found with weapons and the other was believed to be an observer for AIF forces.
An anti-aircraft gun, three full cans of ammunition, an improvised explosive device, 19 60 mm mortar rounds, a rocket propelled grenade, bent tubing which is commonly used to construct IEDs, five 120 mm rounds, a home made IED, seven 155mm rounds and two directional charges were found and seized during the operation.
   The detainees are being held for further questioning.
  


FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 2007
Golden Dragons Mourn Loss Of Fallen Comrade

By Staff Sgt. Angela Mckinzie
2nd BCT, 10th Mtn. Div. (LI) Public Affairs

 

Hardiman and Lopez mourn loss of fellow comrades

   PATROL BASE GATOR SWAMP, Iraq - In the military there are Soldiers that touch people’s hearts and leave a their mark in the lives of many others – Neil Mitchell III was one of those Soldiers.
   Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) gathered to mourn the loss of a fallen comrade during a memorial ceremony at Patrol Base Gator Swamp, Iraq Jan. 13.
   Mitchell, a native Winchester, Tenn., who served as a gunner with 2-14, was killed by enemy small arms fire while pulling route security around the PB Gator Swamp area Jan. 6, just two weeks after returning from leave and one week after celebrating his 21st birthday.
   Mitchell was remembered as more than a Soldier. He was a friend, a practical joker and one who loved computer games.
“Mitchell was very outgoing and spent most of his time playing computer games,” said Spc. Joseph Carmosino, a 2-14 gunner and native of Syracuse, N.Y. “He was very generous and would help anyone with rides, money … anything. You could not help but to like Mitchell,” Carmosino said. “He never got mad at people and always did stuff for others.”
   Carmosino, who considered Mitchell one of his best friends, reminisced of Mitchell’s love for computer games.
   “One night I crawled through Mitchell’s ceiling to see if I could use his car … Mitchell would not answer the door because he was playing a computer game,” he said. “Instead of me borrowing his car, Mitchell said he would go with me after he finished his game. I waited for six hours for him to finish that game.”
   During the ceremony Mitchell’s commander spoke highly of the Soldier.
   “He was one of those Soldiers that could shun any burden with a smile,” said Capt. Brendan Hobbs, Company C. commander, 2-14 and native of Tampa, Fla., as he tried to fight back tears. “He always had a smile even on the worst of days.”
   Mitchell was also remembered for his big, white Cadillac – a car without any doors and referred to as the platoon car.
   “One morning before first formation I noticed a big, white car that was parked with one tire on the curb at an odd angle,” said Staff Sgt. Darren Lemorta, a platoon sergeant with 2-14 and native of Schenectady, N.Y. “I wanted to see whose car it was so I tried to open the doors, but they did not work. After leaning into the window I found paperwork from so many different Soldiers in the platoon that I had no idea who the car belonged to.”
   Lemorta said Mitchell’s car was so big that it was banned from the first few rows of the parking lot. The car was only allowed to be parked in the back of the parking lot.
   Before the ceremony ended the chaplain left the Soldiers with some encouraging words.
   “There is no way to hide the fact that losing someone you trained with, hung around with and fought with hurts,” said Ch.(Capt.) Kent Coffee, the 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd BCT, 10th Mtn. Div. (LI) chaplain and native of Fort Drum, N.Y. “It is probably one of the hardest things anyone has to do, but in order to truly honor that friend’s sacrifice requires us all to dig deep and rely on our Army family and drawing strength from God.”
   Although Mitchell served as a gunner with 2-14 he had also served in multiple duty positions to include rifleman, Javelin gunner and was selected above his peers as the platoon radio transmitter operator, a job that requires a great deal of responsibility and common sense.
   Mitchell’s awards and decorations include the Purple Heart Medal, the Bronze Star Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon and the Combat Infantryman’s Badge.
   Mitchell is survived by his father, Raymond Mitchell, Sr., and his grandmother Joyce, both of whom reside in Tennessee.
  


FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 2007
Golden Dragons Use All Resources To Accomplish Missions

Staff Sgt. Angela McKinzie
2nd BCT, 10th Mtn. Div. (LI) Public Affairs

   OWESAT VILLAGE, Iraq - Normally when one thinks of the Army they think of Soldiers on land. It is not too often that Soldiers use water to assault the enemy, but using water has become an asset to the modern-day Golden Dragon.
   Soldiers from Company C., 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) conducted a search and attack operation in Owesat Village, Iraq into the Anbar Province to search for caches and talk to local nationals.
   Instead of using convoys to conduct the mission the Golden Dragons used boats. They assaulted down the Euphrates River into an area that had never been engaged by Coalition Forces.
   “Our unit is really showing its flexibility and adaptability,” said 1st Lt. Matt Knox, a native of San Francisco, Calif., who serves as the C. Co. executive officer. “We have to go after enemy forces anywhere in our area of operations.”
   The completion of the operation showed the company’s versatility to provide support and humanitarian support to the local populace while conducting operations against those that would cause harm to the local nationals.
   “Our company flawlessly conducted its first ever boat assault and continued a successful mission outside of our normal area of operations,” Knox said.
   The Golden Dragons plan to use boats in future operations.

Iraq Blog:  January 2007
2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division Commandos
Page Copyright © 2008 Kirk S. Ramsey
Last modified: December 06, 2021