Infantry Magazine articles from January 2008

Infantry Magazine archives from January 2008

Adaptability--the key to success in mountain operations.(Commandant's Note)
January 1, 2008... The Infantry goes after the enemy wherever he chooses to fight or to hide. For the past six years, terrorists have maintained operating bases and today are now increasingly seeking refuge in the mountains of Afghanistan. Despite the daunting...

Winning the mountain fight--adaptability and leadership.(Command Sergeant Major's Corner)
January 1, 2008... Infantry Soldiers prove their ability to adapt to any environment every day around the world. What enables Soldiers from Fort Wainwright, Alaska, to deploy to Iraq and experience only minor heat casualties? How does an organization from Fort...

New sniper system designed for urban fight.(Infantry News)
January 1, 2008... Soldiers deploying have just received a weapon that will dramatically improve sniper operations. The new M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System (SASS), approved for full materiel release in August, is now in the hands of snipers from Fort Polk,...

USAIS announces 2008 Writing Contest.(INFANTRY NEWS)
January 1, 2008... The purpose of the 2008 U.S. Army Infantry School Professional Writing Contest is to stimulate discussion and the dissemination of information relevant to the contemporary operational environment through the publication of articles in Infantry...

Soldiers confident in M4 despite test.(INFANTRY NEWS)
January 1, 2008... In a test conducted last month under extreme conditions, he M4 carbine had just over one of every 100 rounds jam in the weapon or magazine. A recent survey, though, indicated that an overwhelming majority of Soldiers who have used the M4 in...

Firing table updates available.
January 1, 2008... Firing Table Updates Available--The Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC) Firing Tables and Ballistics Division announces the availability of FT 60-P-1 Change 16. The updated table can be downloaded from the FTaB Mortar...

USAMU needs pistol shooters.
January 1, 2008... USAMU Needs Pistol Shooters--The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit at Fort Benning, Georgia, is looking for a few good shooters. The highly competitive unit is putting out its annual call for Soldiers who are interested in competing in pistol...

Reunions set.(Brief article)(Calendar)
January 1, 2008... Reunions Set--The Society of the First Infantry Division, veterans of the Army's "Big Red One," will hold its 90th annual reunion August 20-24 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the Crowne Plaza. For more infbrmation, visit the society's Web...

Wear-out date set for BDUs.
January 1, 2008... Wear-out Date Set for BDUs--The Army's Deputy Chief of Staff for G-1 (Personnel) announced that the final wear-out date for the Army Battle Dress Uniform and Desert Battle Dress Uniform will be April 30 for both active-duty and...

New ammo will decrease ricochet hazards.
January 1, 2008... Anew type of ammunition is arriving in time to help Soldiers in dangerous urban landscapes, such as those in Iraq. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BG James E. Rogers, commanding general of the Joint Munitions Command at Rock Island, Illinois,...

Human terrain team helps soldiers in Iraq understand cultural landscape.(INFANTRY NEWS)
January 1, 2008... On a bright afternoon, Professor Dave Matsuda traveled with a group of U.S Soldiers to tour a food distribution depot in the Ur neighborhood of Iraq. The Soldiers were worried about how to keep the depot from being infiltrated by Moqtada Al...

Ambush Alley: the road to Zerok COP.
January 1, 2008... ZEROK COMBAT OUTPOST, Afghanistan -- It is known to coalition forces as "Ambush Alley." Despite the imminent threat of attack by insurgent fighters along the winding, narrow road surrounded by steep hills and large rocks on the way to...

Human terrain mapping: a critical first step in winning the COIN fight.(Professional Forum)
January 1, 2008... According to counterinsurgency doctrine, the struggle for a population's support is the core of the COIN fight. In order to truly get to know the population, you must really understand it. One could argue that the U.S. military was not attuned...

Team Enabler: getting civil affairs, tactical psychological operations and human intelligence collection into the fight.(PROFESSIONAL FORUM)
January 1, 2008... The current operational environment (OE) in Iraq is more dynamic than ever as we work to transition lines of operation (LOO) such as security and governance to the government of Iraq. Units must have the ability to conduct full spectrum...

Deh-Khwaja ambush: lessons from the Soviet-Afghan War.(PROFESSIONAL FORUM)
January 1, 2008... In 1982, the Soviet 70th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade, supported by DRA forces, launched a block and sweep operation against the Mujahideen forces in the center of Panjwayee District. Panjwayee district is located some 25 kilometers...

Intelligence collection and sharing.(PROFESSIONAL FORUM)(Reprint)
January 1, 2008... "Who controls the past controls the future." --George Orwell, 1984 Years from now after the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have ended, historians will pore over the operations and tactics of the U.S. Army during both campaigns. They will...

Mountain operations: a historical perspective.(Cover story)
January 1, 2008... Descriptions of mountain troops and their operations often begin with a reference to Hannibal's crossing of the Alps in 218 BC, during the Second Punic War. It was not an easy undertaking by any means. Historians debate as to how many men and...

Mountain Ops.
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] At left, Scouts from the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne) react as villagers below run after spotting the Soldiers moving on the hillside during an operation in Chowkay Valley, Afghanistan, August...

Ambush in Gumbad Valley.
January 1, 2008... The 1st Battalion (Airborne), 508th Infantry Regiment, deployed to Paktika province, Afghanistan, in late February 2005 with the 173rd Airborne Brigade. I served in B Company as the executive officer. B Company was assigned to the northern...

Planning for support operations in a mountainous environment.
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In any operation, it is the leader's responsibility to set the conditions for his subordinate unit's success. This principle is no different in the mountains of Afghanistan or on the city streets of Iraq. During...

Constructing a platoon FOB in Afghanistan.(forward operating base)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] During the spring and summer of 2005, Battle Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, built and occupied three platoon-sized firebases in the mountains of Northern Zabul Province,...

A higher calling: training curve is steep at the Army Mountain Warfare School.(Training Notes)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The global missions of the U.S. Army mean that Soldiers can, and often do, find themselves in a variety of challenging environments. If that terrain is steep and deep, as it is in the rugged peaks of Afghanistan or...

Islamist militancy and Yemen's internal struggles: a look at the writings of Yemeni Colonel Abd-al-Wali Al-Shumairy.(Training Notes)
January 1, 2008... The United States military must focus on the study of small conflicts that raged from the Soviet-Afghan Wars to the present. These wars on the surface appear tribal, internal and political, but from internal chaos are opportunities for...

Small arms ammunition: know what you're shooting.(TRAINING NOTES)
January 1, 2008... Dear PS Editor, I am a quality assurance specialist ammunition (QASAS) in Iraq and have encountered several problems that Soldiers should be warned about: * Soldiers are modifying weapons or using unauthorized weapons. Both practices...

The Cambodian Campaign: The 1970 Offensive and America's Vietnam War.(Book review)
January 1, 2008... The Cambodian Campaign: The 1970 Offensive and America's Vietnam War. By John M. Shaw. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2005, 222 pages, $34.95. The total Vietnam War has received a surfeit of attention, but the Cambodian Campaign...

The Prince: The Secret Story of the World's Most Intriguing Royal, Prince Bandar Bin Sultan.(Book review)
January 1, 2008... The Prince: The Secret Story of the World's Most Intriguing Royal, Prince Bandar Bin Sultan. By William Simpson. New York: Regan Books, A Division of HarperCollins, 2006, 439 pages, $32.50. I must confess the flashy book cover led me to an...

Historical Perspectives of the Operational Art.(Book review)
January 1, 2008... Historical Perspectives of the Operational Art. By Michael D. Krause and R. Cody Phillips (eds.). Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, 2005, 505 pages, $41. This is an anthology by historians illustrating the origin and...

Pointe du Hoc.(Book review)
January 1, 2008... Pointe du Hoc. By Peter Howard. Great Britain: Ian Allen Publishing, 2006, 96 pages, $29.95. You won't read the following fact in many history books dealing with D-Day in World War II, but on June 6, 1944, an act of insubordination was...