Face of Defense: California Guardsman Gains Experience in Afghanistan

By Army Staff Sgt. Neysa Canfield, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division

KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, Afghanistan -- When Army Spc. Mark Ballinger arrived to the California Army National Guard’s 40th Infantry Division two years ago, a deployment to Afghanistan was the last thing on his mind.

Ballinger, a cable systems installer-maintainer, said slots for the upcoming two deployments to Afghanistan were scarce when arrived at the unit, but he stayed eager and motivated for the possibility of a deployment.

“In May, less than a week before we left for Texas for the first phase of the deployment, I received a call from an officer from my unit asking if I was still interested in going to Afghanistan,” said Ballinger. “I immediately jumped at the opportunity, they squared me away with the paperwork and I prepared to leave for the mission.”

On July 15, more than two months after that call, Ballinger and more than 30 other soldiers from the division stood in formation here to receive their combat patches during a patching ceremony.

“When I first arrived to the unit and received the 40th Infantry Division patch, I felt part of something bigger than myself, but now being able to wear the patch on both shoulders of my uniform makes me feel even more part of the team,” he said.

Ballinger, who is now part of the communications section for Train, Advise and Assist Command South, said his goal during this deployment is to gain experience.

“At first I wasn’t too excited about having to learn and do the work that [information technology specialists] do, but now I am so happy that I am getting that skill, so I can be a well-rounded signal soldier when I get back to the states,” he said.

Career Soldier

Getting first-hand experience and surrounded by the knowledge of a collaborated leadership of active-duty soldiers and guardsmen in TAAC-South will make Ballinger a better leader in the future, said Army Staff Sgt. Mark Anderson, Ballinger’s supervisor.

“[He] has already expressed that he wants to make the Army a career and he has the motivation and drive to be able to do it,” said Anderson, a nodal network systems operator-maintainer with the 40th Infantry Division. “This deployment will be a great stepping stone for him so he can receive mentorship from soldiers who do this line of work day-in and day-out.”

Anderson said seeing Ballinger receive his combat patch made him proud to be a noncommissioned officer.

“He’s very young in his career and he’s doing exactly what he needs to be doing to set himself up for success,” Anderson added. “It makes me feel proud to be his NCO and see how much he is excelling and contributing to the mission.”

Ballinger said he is excited to learn and be able to use that knowledge to mentor and lead new soldiers when he gets back to California.

“With everything I learn here I will be able to be a better [cable systems installer-maintainer specialist] and leader,” he said. “I want to be a person that others look up to and depend on because they know I can get the job done.”

Algerian Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiring with Pennsylvania Woman and Others to Provide Material Support to Terrorists

PHILADELPHIA – U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, and Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office William F. Sweeney Jr. announced that an Algerian man pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to provide material support and resources to terrorists.  United States District Judge Petrese B. Tucker presided over the proceeding.

Ali Charaf Damache, 53, also known as Theblackflag, was indicted in 2011 in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on one count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and one count of attempted identity theft to facilitate an act of international terrorism.  United States authorities extradited Damache from Spain in 2017.

According to the indictment, Damache, his co-defendant Mohammad Hassan Khalid, and others conspired to support, recruit, and coordinate a terrorist cell, consisting of men and women from Europe and the United States, to wage violent jihad in and around Europe.  Among those with whom Damache conspired is Colleen R. LaRose, who was a resident of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania at the time of the acts alleged in the indictment.  LaRose, aka Fatima LaRose, aka JihadJane, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for her involvement in this conspiracy.  The indictment alleges that Damache, Khalid, LaRose, and others recruited men online to wage violent jihad in South Asia and Europe and recruited women who had passports and the ability to travel to and around Europe in support of violent jihad.

As part of his guilty plea, Damache has agreed to be sentenced to a 180-month term of imprisonment and has waived his right to appeal his sentence.  Damache has further agreed that upon completing his prison sentence, he will be removed from the United States and returned to Ireland or, in the alternative, Algeria, as Damache is a citizen of both countries.

“Counterterrorism remains my office’s highest priority, and we will continue to prevent, disrupt, and defeat violent extremism at home and abroad,” said U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain.  The prosecutors and law enforcement agencies who brought Damache to justice in the United States work shoulder-to-shoulder, every day, to do just that.  As this case shows, our resolve to dismantle clear and present dangers to our national security is stronger than ever.”

This case was investigated by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York and the FBI Field Divisions in Philadelphia, Denver, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., and the IRS.  The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and authorities in Spain provided substantial assistance.  Authorities in Ireland also provided assistance in this matter.

The case is being prosecuted by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah M. Wolfe of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and Trial Attorneys Matthew F. Blue and C. Alexandria Bogle of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

Progress Continues in Defeating ISIS, Coalition Official Says

WASHINGTON -- The coalition and its partnered forces in Iraq and Syria continue to make progress in the effort to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the coalition’s senior French representative said today.

Brig. Gen. Frederic Parisot of the French air force, the director of civil-military operations for Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve, provided an operational update briefing to Pentagon reporters today via videoconference from Baghdad.

Coalition strikes in April and June killed six high-value terrorist leaders responsible for planning terror operations overseas, Parisot announced. He credited the Syrian Democratic Forces, the Iraqi security forces and the coalition for the progress in defeating the terrorists.

“Thanks to the operations conducted by the SDF, ISF and the coalition, we are stopping [ISIS] from being able to conduct terror across the world and degrading the ability to plan and finance such operations,” he said.

In a news release, the coalition said the removal of the six terrorists has prevented ISIS’ external attack planning, facilitation and operations targeting Saudi Arabia, Sweden and the United States.

The release says those killed were a Syrian-based ISIS member planning attacks in Saudi Arabia; a Belgian foreign fighter who came to Syria to plan attacks against the United States and its interests; and four people linked to a Swedish attack plot.

Focus on ISIS Defeat

Parisot detailed other progress in the fight, including the Iraqi security forces working with Kurdish peshmerga fighters in joint operations to clear an area in the mountains near Kirkuk, Iraq.

Additionally, along Iraq’s western border, the Iraqi forces continue to prevent terrorists from pouring into Iraq while the coalition continues to provide intelligence, overwatch and fire support to partner force on the ground, he said.

Parisot pointed out that Operation Roundup is in its 84th day of activating the offensive to defeat ISIS remnants in the Middle Euphrates River Valley. He noted the recent liberation of Dashishah in Syria, which was among the last terrorist strongholds in the area.

“Thanks to the combined SDF ground offensive, strikes by coalition and Iraqi forces and border security operation by the ISF, Dashishah has been freed after four years of tyrannical [ISIS] rule,” he said.

Fight to ‘Finally Rid the World’ of ISIS

France is steadfast in its support to the coalition, Parisot said, highlighting the strikes French forces have conducted operations as well as providing the training and other support French forces provide toward the defeat-ISIS effort.

“My country knows firsthand the horrific acts that [ISIS] is willing and capable of committing, and that's why we will remain committed to this fight,” he said.

He said the 1,100 French forces in Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are working side by side with coalition nations at the forefront of efforts to defeat ISIS.

“France is honored to stand among the 72 nations and five international organizations that comprise the most successful international coalition ever formed,” he said. “We remain committed to the fight to finally rid the world of [ISIS] once and for all”