Helicopter Crash Kills 2 ISAF Members in Afghanistan

Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases

WASHINGTON  – Two International Security Assistance Force service members died following a helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan yrsterday, military officials reported.

The cause of the crash is under investigation, officials said.

According to operational reporting, there was no enemy activity in the area at the time of the crash. It is ISAF policy to defer casualty identification procedures to the relevant national authorities.

In operations yesterday around Afghanistan:

-- An Afghan and coalition security force detained two suspected insurgents during an operation to arrest a Taliban insurgent in the Hisarak district of Nangarhar province.

-- A combined force detained several suspects during a search for a Taliban leader in the Nad-e Ali district of Helmand province. The sought-after Taliban leader organizes insurgent operations against Afghan and coalition forces throughout the district.

-- In the Panjwai district of Kandahar province, an Afghan-led, coalition-supported force detained numerous suspects and seized multiple weapons during an operation to arrest a Taliban explosives supplier.

-- Also in the Panjwai district, a combined force detained several suspects during a search for a Taliban facilitator who provides improvised explosive devices and weapons to insurgents.

-- A combined force detained several suspects during a search for a Taliban leader in the Andar district of Ghazni province. The sought-after Taliban leader directs IED attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

Face of Defense: Married Couple Serves Deployment Together

By Marine Corps Cpl. Mark Garcia

Regional Command Southwest

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan - During a deployment, most Marines are separated from their families. But for one married Marine Corps couple, a deployment is providing the opportunity to connect in a way most would not be able to experience.

Staff Sgt. Luke Billingsley and his wife, Sgt. Nancy Billingsley, both from San Diego, are deployed with Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

The couple had to leave their four children at home with family, but they said being able to see each other throughout the deployment makes their time away easier.

“It’s like a piece of home you get to bring with you,” Nancy said. “But ultimately, it’s not all easy, because … we still have to exert ourselves at work but then also [have to] find time to make the marriage work. It makes it a lot easier to be deployed, because I get to see him every day. He’s more like my support, so when I’m having an off day, I know that he’s there, so I don’t feel alone as much.”

Being deployed with his wife gives him a family member to lean on during the deployment, which makes things easier, Luke said.

“The main benefit of being deployed with my wife is the peace of mind I have,” he said. “I don’t have worry about my wife needing anything, because I can see her here. I see her every day. I know that she doesn’t really need anything. Everything that she needs is out here, and if she does need something, I’ll be right here for her to help her with anything.”

While being away from their children is hard, Nancy said, having her husband deployed with her makes the hardship easier. During their seven-month deployment, the couple will celebrate their fourth anniversary during October.

“Having my husband out here makes it really easy for me to do my job,” Nancy said. “That homesickness part of the deployment doesn’t really exist. I mean, we miss our kids, but ultimately, that home sickness doesn’t set in like everybody else’s.”

Even while they’re deployed, they still find time for each other.

“We see each other during lunch and during work whenever we get a chance,” Nancy said. “Our schedules overlap each other, but it definitely makes the deployment easier. It’s more on his part, because he comes for my laundry. He does all the little things, because as soon as I get off at [6 a.m.], I usually just want to go straight to bed. But he’s constantly catering to what I need.”

Luke said he does his wife’s laundry, walks her to work, walks her home, walks her to chow when she can go and brings her chow when she can’t. “I even packed her gear to come out here,” he added. “The only thing she had to do was drag her bags to the aircraft. Overall, I’m happy and content with the way things are.”

Having his wife on the deployment with him allows him to focus on his job, instead of worrying about home, Luke said.

“It’s just one less worry that I have to worry about back home,” Luke said. “It’s not as bad as a deployment should be. It’s not a normal deployment, because I do have my wife here [rather than] a wife and kids being back home. I have a family out here, so it makes the deployment a little easier.”

DOD Announces Charges Sworn Against Al Darbi

The Department of Defense announced today that the Office of the Chief Prosecutor for Military Commissions has sworn charges against Guantanamo detainee Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed Haza al Darbi, a Saudi Arabian national.

The charges sworn today allege that the accused committed offenses triable under the Military Commissions Act of 2009, 10 U.S.C. §§ 948a, et seq, including: (1) Conspiracy to Commit Multiple Offenses Triable by Military Commission; (2) Aiding and Abetting the Offense of Attacking Civilian Objects; (3) Aiding and Abetting the Offense of Hazarding a Vessel; (4) Aiding and Abetting the Offense of Terrorism; (5) Multiple Specifications of Attempt; and (6) Aiding the Enemy.  The charges are merely accusations, and the accused is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  The maximum sentence for these charges is confinement for life.

These sworn charges allege that al Darbi joined a terrorist conspiracy with al Qaeda by the year 1997.  In furtherance of this conspiracy, al Darbi is alleged to have attended the Khalden training camp in Afghanistan, to have received personal permission from Usama bin Laden to train at al Qaeda’s Jihad Wahl training camp, and to have worked as a weapons instructor at al Qaeda’s al Farouq training camp, both in Afghanistan.  From approximately 2000 through 2002, al Darbi is also alleged to have committed multiple overt acts in support of a plot to bomb civilian oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and off the coast of Yemen.  These alleged acts included:  receiving large amounts of money from al Qaeda; purchasing GPS devices and other equipment; purchasing a boat intended to be the attack vessel; registering this boat under the name of an unwitting participant; applying for travel documents that allowed potential attack operatives to travel from Yemen to the UAE; training these potential attack operatives; and sailing the boat he purchased towards Yemen in order to meet with these attack operatives.

In addition to the conspiracy charge, al Darbi is alleged to have aided and abetted the completed terrorist attack against the French oil tanker, the MV Limburg, which severely injured multiple civilians and caused a large oil spill in the Gulf of Aden in 2002.

The Regulation for Trial by Military Commission requires that the chief prosecutor notify the legal advisor to the Convening Authority and the chief defense counsel for Military Commissions within 24 hours of swearing charges.  The accused must also be notified of the charges sworn against him as soon as practicable.  The chief prosecutor will not immediately forward the charges to the Convening Authority for action in this case.  Once the chief prosecutor does so, the Convening Authority makes an independent determination as to whether to refer some, all, or none of the charges for trial by military commission.  If the Convening Authority decides to refer the case to trial, he will designate commission panel members (jurors). The chief trial judge of the Military Commissions Trial Judiciary then assigns a military judge to the case.

The Chief Prosecutor, Brigadier General Mark Martins, said upon the swearing of charges, “Mr. al Darbi’s alleged crimes are serious violations of the law of war that were committed to terrorize and wreak havoc on the world economy.  We will be prepared to proceed toward his trial by reformed military commission if the Convening Authority refers charges.”

Combined Force Arrests Taliban Weapons Supplier

From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release

KABUL, Afghanistan, Aug. 29, 2012 – An Afghan and coalition security force arrested a Taliban weapons supplier during an operation in the Andar district of Afghanistan’s Ghazni province today, military officials reported.

The weapons supplier provided Taliban leaders in Ghazni with improvised explosive devices, other weapons and ammunition, officials said.

The security force also detained two additional suspected insurgents during the operation.

Also today, a combined force arrested a Taliban leader and detained two other suspects in the Kandahar district of Kandahar province. The Taliban leader distributed weapons and explosives to Taliban fighters. He also is suspected of being involved in planning the assassination of an Afghan government official in Kandahar.

In an operation yesterday in the Lashkar Gah district of Helmand province, a combined force found mortar rounds, two IEDs, bomb-making equipment, and 7,716 pounds of ammonium nitrate, a compound used to produce homemade explosives.

Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Staff Sgt. Jessica M. Wing, 42, of Alexandria, Va., died Aug. 27, in Kuwait City, Kuwait in a non-combat related incident.  She was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 126th Aviation Regiment, Bangor, Maine.

For more information related to this release, media may contact the Maine Army National Guard public affairs office at 207-626-4390.