John G. Perren Named Assistant Director of Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate

Director Robert S. Mueller has appointed John G. Perren as the assistant director of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate. Mr. Perren most recently served as the deputy assistant director of the Criminal Investigative Division.

Mr. Perren entered on duty as a special agent in 1987 and was assigned to the Newark Field Office, where he worked counterterrorism investigations as a member of the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). During his 10-year tenure in Newark, he also served on the SWAT team and as the aviation coordinator.

In 1997, Mr. Perren was promoted to supervisory special agent of the Domestic Terrorism Operations Unit, Counterterrorism and Planning Section, at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. In this position, Mr. Perren coordinated the efforts of 12 field offices located in the Northeast in the fight against terrorism.

Two years later, Mr. Perren became the JTTF supervisor at Washington Field Office (WFO) in Washington, D.C. In 2001, he was promoted to assistant special agent in charge of WFO’s Counterterrorism Branch II. During his tenure, he expanded the JTTF from nine federal, state, and local agencies to 34 and developed a Command and Tactical Operations Center to coordinate crisis management for the division. He also established WFO’s first Joint Intelligence Task Force and Field Intelligence Group.

Mr. Perren was one of three on-scene commanders at the Pentagon after the September 11, 2011 terrorist attacks and was responsible for preserving the crime scene, coordinating recovery efforts with special military units, and ensuring the safety of personnel at the crash site. In January 2005, he served as the on-scene commander for FBI field operations in Baghdad and implemented the first contingent of FBI personnel who supported U.S. Special Forces components throughout Iraq.

In July 2005, Mr. Perren was promoted to chief of the Weapons of Mass Destruction/Domestic Terrorism Operations Section in the Counterterrorism Division. The section provided national program management and support to detect, deter, and defeat acts of domestic terrorism, as well as the actual or threatened use of weapons of mass destruction. On July 26, 2006, the Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate was created to ensure the proper policies, protocols, and resources were established and deployed to minimize and mitigate the effects of a weapons of mass destruction incident and to expedite the FBI’s ability to execute its statutory intelligence, investigative, and crisis response obligations. Mr. Perren served as chief of the Countermeasures and Preparedness Section.

In January 2008, Mr. Perren became the special agent in charge of WFO’s Counterterrorism Division.

Before joining the FBI, Mr. Perren was a member of the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. for 14 years. He worked violent crimes cases, including undercover assignments, and was later promoted to detective.

Mr. Perren has a bachelor’s degree in criminology from American University and a master’s degree in criminology with a leadership emphasis in weapons of mass destruction from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Coalition, Iraqi Troops Bring Medical Treatment to Village

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tami Hillis
Special to American Forces Press Service

July 14, 2008 - Residents of Juhaysh in Iraq's Wasit province received medical assistance from Iraqi and coalition forces during a cooperative medical engagement July 9. Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 32nd Brigade, 8th Iraqi Army Division, secured the area along with U.S. soldiers in Company D, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, attached to 1st Battalion, 76th Field Artillery, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, and used a school as a makeshift clinic to offer care to local Iraqis.

Village residents poured in from the streets, forming a line outside the school.

"I think this is very good," an Iraqi medic said. "It's good to help out the people, and we have a good relationship with the coalition forces."

In preparation for the engagement, the unit came out to the Juhaysh village to see what the people have and don't have, Army Capt. John Zdeb, commander of Company D, 3-7th Infantry Regiment, said.

"We asked the sheiks to identify their needs, and medical service was one of their highest priorities," said the seven-year Army veteran, who is on his second Iraq deployment. "[A combined medical engagement] was one of the easier things to do. A lot of the bigger projects, like getting the canals working and other stuff, involve higher-level influence and a lot of money, so this was relatively low-budget, high-payoff."

Army Maj. (Dr.) Mario Caycedo, a surgeon with 703rd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th BCT, led the team of 703rd BSB medics and a 3-32nd Brigade medic in examining, diagnosing, treating and advising the patients.

"The main purpose of the CME is to come out here and interact and provide them with medical care," said Army Spc. Johnelle Opel, a medic from 703rd BSB.

At the initial screening station, combat medics, assisted by translators, interviewed each patient for medical history and previous treatments and noted their ailments. Then the medics measured each patient's vital signs -- pulse, temperature and blood pressure.

Once vital signs were taken, patients were escorted to a private room, where their ailments were treated.

Medical personnel saw about 280 patients, ranging from infants to elderly, with various ailments. Medical issues ranged from common joint and back pain to infections and gastrointestinal disorders.

"Most of the ailments were from the water. ... We will look at coming back here to help them out with education; do a [mission] to show them how to properly purify the water, things like that," Army Capt. K.C. Woody, commander of Company C, 703rd BSB, said.

Most of the medications distributed were over-the-counter medicines, such as pain medication, multivitamins, antibiotics and topical medicines for rashes. "We bought all the medications from the market in Iskandariyah, so it's all stuff bought off the Iraqi economy, stuff that they can get, so it's a step in the right direction," Woody said.

Each patient received an evaluation, treatment, medicine if needed, and humanitarian assistance such as water, food and personal hygiene items.

"In this area specifically, there is a lack of essential services," Zdeb said. "There are no smaller medical clinics in any of these outlining communities, and it's hard for a lot of these people to actually get to the bigger cities to get to a hospital to receive medical treatment."

In addition to the Iraqi soldiers pulling security duty, the Iraqi brigade's leadership also was present.

"It shows the local populace that their military and police leadership care about them," Woody said. "[Having the Iraqi military present] is a step in the right direction. Obviously, we're not going to be here forever, but they will. So it's important for them to see how we do things, and they can take away some of the things they learn from us, plus the things that they do well."

(Army Sgt. 1st Class Tami Hillis serves in the 3rd Infantry Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office.)

Enemy Neutralized in Iraq's Anbar Province, Colonel Says

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

June 30, 2008 - The enemy in the eastern portion of Iraq's Anbar province has been neutralized, the coalition commander in the area said today. Al-Qaida in Iraq still can launch occasional horrific attacks, but in Ramadi and Fallujah -- once strongholds of the terror group -- security is allowing the region to transfer to provincial Iraqi control, Marine Corps Col. Lewis Craparotta, the area's coalition commander, told Pentagon reporters in a briefing via satellite from Camp Fallujah today.

Still, the colonel said, coalition and Iraqi forces must remain vigilant, as al-Qaida wants to come back into the area. "Both cities have historical significance to the insurgents," he explained.

In an attack in Karmah last week, for example, an al-Qaida suicide bomber infiltrated a tribal leader meeting. The explosion killed three Americans and 15 Iraqi leaders.

"We watch the enemy actions very closely," Craparotta said. "We work side by side with both the Iraqi police and the Iraqi army to reduce the enemy's capabilities to execute these attacks, and to prevent them from re-establishing themselves in our area."
Iraqi police and soldiers are full partners in the fight against al-Qaida, the colonel said.

"Yesterday, ... we sat down with the police and the army and talked about this incident in Karmah," he said, "and we decided there was a need to conduct an operation that ... was completed this morning."

Craparotta said he asked the Fallujah police chief what he needed from the coalition to perform the mission. "He told me that he would just as soon I watch my students go out there and execute and that he was confident he could do it, and if I was available to provide a [quick-reaction force], that that would be enough," the colonel said.

While the events in Karmah are tragic, he said, they need to be taken in perspective.

In May and June, five other suicide-vest attacks and a car-bomb attack took place in Fallujah, he said, and Iraqi police and soldiers minimized the effects of these attacks and prevented many more attacks. The police, in fact, have the lead in Ramadi and Fallujah, he added.

"The relationships that we have developed with the Iraqi police have allowed us to reduce slowly our 24-hour presence [and] put them in the lead for most of the day-to-day operations," the colonel said. "There is mutual respect among the forces and a common goal: protecting the citizens. Both the Iraqi army and the Iraqi police leadership have certainly proven capable. They have risen to every occasion, and they have certainly earned the respect of the population."

Coalition experts continue to train the Iraqi security forces. Military and police transition teams work with Iraqi units to hone their skills.

Security progress allows civilian agencies and the Iraqi government to step forward to improve the quality of life for the average Iraqi, Craparotta said. "We've assisted or are assisting the Iraqis with local governance, reconstruction, implementing the rule of law and generally trying to improve the quality of life for the citizens," he said. "Local governments are continuing to prosper, with mayors and city councils taking on more and more responsibility. And we expect that that will accelerate here, as we transition to provincial Iraqi control."

Anbar province will transfer to Iraqi control as soon as the sandstorm across the region subsides. The colonel said he expects that once the transfer occurs, more Iraqi government money will come into the province "so that they can really take advantage of that element of control that they'll gain after the ceremony."

The rule of law is settling into place, and small and mid-sized companies are beginning. Provincial authorities are learning the stresses and challenges of a democratic budgetary process.

"As with most budgets, I think there is always a desire for more," Craparotta said. "But this is ... the first year that we've been able to execute a budget."

Local officials are helping to draft next year's budget now. "We're picking up steam in the budget area and governance, and I think we're on the road to success," the colonel said.

Team's Approach Focuses Iraqi Police on Sustainment

By Sgt. Daniel D. Blottenberger, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service

Feb. 7, 2008 - Iraqi police expansion in Baghdad has reached an all-time high in the past six months, and with new recruits filling the ranks, police forces are improving by the day. As 18th Military Police Brigade police transition teams assess improvements with the numbers of Iraqi police officers and rule-of-law operations at the station level, the brigade's soldiers have begun a transition into a "systems approach" to move the Iraqi police headquarters to the next level of performance in securing the future of the Iraqi people.

Brigade officials call the new approach the enhanced police transition team.

The 18th MP Brigade's EPTT is composed of staff representatives from military police, logistics, communications and personnel leaders who focus on sustainment operations for the Iraqi police force in Baghdad.

"We are energizing the leadership to take responsibility and support their stations," said Army Lt. Col. Thomas Lombardo, the brigade's operations officer.

The brigade sends staff experts to the provincial Iraqi police leadership in Baghdad to support efforts in improving their sustainment systems. The new approach is under way not only at the main provincial headquarters, but also at other levels such as the criminal investigations department, provincial police patrol headquarters and traffic headquarters.

"We are sending individuals with the right skill sets to engage the proper IP sections," said Lombardo, who has deployed with the brigade to Baghdad twice.

The brigade is supporting Iraqi police logistics, personnel management, maintenance, budget, operations, training, leadership and judicial integration.

"You can have all these systems in place, but if you don't have good leadership, none of these things will work. Leadership makes things work," said Lombardo, who has worked directly with Iraqi police leaders in Baghdad since the unit deployed from Germany in October.

Lombardo said Iraqi police leaders are proactive and receptive to the new approach their coalition counterparts are using.

"The stations here in Baghdad are good," Lombardo said. "We can make them better if we can get the ... leadership to take responsibility of their stations and take charge."

Over the past month, the brigade staff has worked with all the provincial levels of leadership in Baghdad to understand the Iraqi police systems and see how the enhanced police transition team can help improve methods of operation. The brigade sent staff experts from each section of operations to the Iraqi police's higher echelons to learn and assess the Iraqi systems.

"Iraqi police have grown in numbers; now their systems need to grow to match their numbers," said Army 1st Lt. David Delong, a communications officer who visited the Iraqi police station's higher echelons in Baghdad recently to examine their communication systems.

"The Iraqi police were very happy to have someone who knows communications to come talk to them and lend some advice," Delong said.

He added that he was impressed with their knowledge of their communication systems, and they knew where they wanted to go with their systems.

Internet communication is important and vital for passing information among police stations and between the stations and headquarters in Baghdad, Delong said. During his visit, he noted problems in Internet connectivity among the police stations. "They are now trying to fix those problems with our help," he said.

The teams are helping distribute communication supplies from the Interior Ministry and set up contracts for Internet connectivity. They also are starting to train the more experienced communications personnel at the police stations so they can train other officers in using the communication equipment.

Army Master Sgt. Thomas Francis, the brigade's maintenance supervisor, recently spent several days observing the Iraqi police maintenance system at the central maintenance facility in Baghdad.

"The (Iraqi police) have a good system in place," said Francis, who has been working in maintenance facilities for 20 years. "The IP work (well) with what they have. They are very organized and have good accountability of their parts, which they often recycle to get the most out of their equipment."

The team plans on helping procure modern equipment for the Iraqi police mechanics and training programs. It's also providing ideas on how to spread mechanics out to the different organization levels to capitalize on their experience and round out the force.

"There are a lot of mechanics in training, and once they graduate, we will help them distribute the new mechanics to all levels in Baghdad," Francis said.

The new mechanics and equipment will help speed up the recovery process for damaged police cars, thus furthering mission capability, Francis explained.

The enhanced police transition team approach is in its initial stage, and brigade leaders believe the new systems approach is on track. "I feel confident that we are going in the right direction," Lombardo said.

The strategy, he added, is a foundation for the future success of the police in Baghdad.

"Enhanced PTT is a strategy to build on, and in the future, we will hand this off to future brigades to continue," he said. "This system helps us move to our end-state, in which (Iraqi police) move to enforce the rule of law independently."

(Army Sgt. Daniel D. Blottenberger serves in Multinational Corps Iraq Public Affairs with 18th Military Police Brigade.)

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Afghan, Coalition Forces Defeat Insurgent Ambush

American Forces Press Service

July 23, 2007 - Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces were attacked by an unknown number of enemy fighters during a patrol on the western side of the Helmand River in the Musa Qalah district of Afghanistan's Helmand province yesterday. The Afghan-led patrol was near Shaban Village when insurgents began attacking with rocket-propelled grenades and small arms, officials reported. The combined patrol repelled the initial attack with small-arms fire.

Coalition forces were then engaged by a suspected insurgent suicide vehicle bomber. Two insurgents were killed and the vehicle was destroyed during this engagement.

Immediately after the vehicle was destroyed, more than seven insurgents from two compounds within Shaban Village began firing on the forces, military officials said. Close-air support was called in to suppress the large number of enemy fighters within the compounds.

Coalition air support dropped one 500-pound bomb on one of the compounds, and ground forces immediately moved into the compound to assess the damage.

As the battle continued, additional insurgents arrived to reinforce the enemy positions within 500 meters of Shaban village. The combined force maneuvered to defendable positions and then directed close-air support to drop munitions on positively identified enemy positions. A total of four bombs were dropped during the engagement, and more than two dozen enemy fighters were killed in the prolonged battle.

"The insurgents further demonstrate their intentions to kill Afghan civilians and destroy Afghanistan with these actions," said Army Maj. Chris Belcher, a Combined Joint Task Force 82 spokesman. "By attacking the pro-government forces from civilian areas, the insurgents are knowingly placing innocent Afghans in the line of fire to create more civilian casualties. This is simply unacceptable, and the world should condemn their actions."

In other operations, Afghan National Police continued taking the lead in providing security and civil order in their country executing a unilateral mission ending in the arrest of a key terrorist leader in the Nangarhar province July 21.

Afghan officers arrested Shir Agha at his home in Tutu village and later turned him over to coalition forces in the area. The Afghan National Police leadership had minimal coalition assistance during the planning and execution of the operation.

"This operation is indicative of the Nangarhar Afghan National Police's capacity to conduct successful high-risk operations as a unilateral force," Belcher said. "The ANP's ability to enforce law and order in Nangarhar province is demonstrated by their execution of successful missions that support the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan."

(Compiled from Combined Joint Task Force 82 news releases.)

Afghan, Coalition Forces Capture Militants

American Forces Press Service

July 22, 2007 - Afghan and coalition forces detained several militants in operations conducted yesterday and today, U.S. military officials reported. A militant was detained during an operation in Afghanistan's Khowst province today, after intelligence led Afghan and coalition forces to a compound suspected of harboring anti-coalition militants.

An empty ammunition vest, ammunition, various weapons and propaganda items were found in a search of the compound. The detained individual will be questioned regarding his identity and involvement in insurgent activities, officials said.

No shots were fired, no damage was done to the compound, and there were no indications of civilian injuries or deaths.

In addition, Afghan and coalition forces detained four men during an operation in the Nangarhar province today.

Coalition forces searched a compound suspected of housing militants with ties to an al Qaeda group known as the Tora Bora Front. During the search, forces found a landmine. The mine was destroyed in place.

"Pockets of hard-core extremists are attempting to destabilize the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan," Army Maj. Chris Belcher, a Combined Joint Task Force 82 spokesman, said. "Operations like this one help deter their success and promote peace and stability."

There were no civilian injuries or deaths during the operation.

Also, Afghan National Police officers arrested Shir Agha, a high-level militant weapons dealer, yesterday in Nangarhar province. Agha was later turned over to coalition forces in the area.

Afghan police continue taking the lead in providing security and civil order in their country, officials said. The Afghan police leadership had minimal coalition assistance during the planning process and they executed the operation on their own, officials added.

Intelligence suggests that Agha supplied large quantities of weapons to the Hizb-E-Islami Gulbuddin terrorist cell and network commanders throughout the Nangarhar province. Coalition forces believe this arrest will disrupt the flow of weapons to other terrorist cells in southern Nangarhar.

"This operation is indicative of the Nangarhar Afghan National Police's capacity to conduct successful high-risk operations as a unilateral force," Belcher said. "The ANP's ability to enforce law and order in Nangarhar province is demonstrated by their execution of successful missions that support the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan."

(Compiled from Combined Joint Task Force 82 news releases.)