There are no such thing as non combat troops
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By Mike Ferner

A veteran’s perspective makes it clear that two major points must be made in response to President Obama’s announcement regarding combat troops leaving Iraq.

First, there is no such thing as “non combat troops.” It is a contradiction in terms. It is internally inconsistent. It is illogical. It is simply not true.

Ask any of the millions of men and women who went through basic training and they can tell you that every U.S. troop anywhere in the world was indoctrinated and trained in the basics of combat. While in Iraq, the transition from mechanics or communications back to combat-ready soldier takes but an order. “Non-combat troops” is simply the latest in a long line of military euphemisms meant to obscure painful reality.


2 DOD Identifies Army Casualties
The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation New Dawn.

They died Sept. 7 at Balad, Iraq, of wounds suffered in a shooting incident in Salah ad-Din province. This incident is under investigation.

Killed were:

Sgt. Philip C. Jenkins, 26, of Decatur, Ind.

Pvt. James F. McClamrock, 22, of Huntersville, N.C.

They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Advise and Assist Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

For more information, the media may contact the 25th Infantry Division public affairs office at 808-655-6343.

Operation New Dawn
EXCERPT:
More than seven years after it began, Operation Iraqi Freedom was declared “over” by U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday – although it is unclear whether Obama’s “fulfillment” of his promise to end combat operations by August 31 will benefit him politically (or end the war).

Family feels stinging loss
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Posted: Thursday, Sep. 09, 2010
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McClamrock

A church member hugs Kathryn McClamrock, facing the camera. She is the sister of Army Pfc. James McClamrock, 22, who was killed Tuesday in Iraq. ROBERT LAHSER -
U.S. says killing of 2 soldiers won't deter mission

CONCORD Kathryn McClamrock sat in her upstairs bedroom Tuesday night crying over a "silly TV show," when her younger sister, 10-year-old Caroline, came in sobbing and wiping her face with a wet towel.

"She said, 'There's two people from the Army downstairs. It's about Jamie. He was shot. He's dead.'" Kathryn, 18, recalled Wednesday evening. "After that, I had something to really cry about."

Pfc. James McClamrock, 22, born in Columbia and raised in Hendersonville and Statesville, was part of a security detail Tuesday in Iraq, family members were told. He was guarding a company commander who was meeting with Iraqi security forces