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    Hearon on Task Force Phoenix VIII
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    • Marines celebrate 234th birthday aboard Al Asad Air Base November 12, 2009
      Each year, military correspondents across the globe work hard to put down on paper the significance of Nov. 10 to Marines worldwide. The Marine Corps birthday is saturated with deep rooted traditions and represents a culmination of more than 200 years of leatherneck pride that is almost impossible to capture with the written word.
    • A runner to the Corps November 12, 2009
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    • IPs, MPs conduct police transition team training November 12, 2009
      The 57th Military Police Company has spent the past three months building a partnership with the Iraqi police in Al Amarah, Maysan Province, Iraq in order to improve their ability to govern and secure the local populace.
    • First intelligence course graduates ISF Soldiers November 12, 2009
      The first Iraqi soldiers to attend intelligence training at Contingency Operating Base Basra graduated Nov. 5. Special Operations Soldiers from all over Multi-National Division-South attended the two week course designed to teach intelligence tasks and techniques.
    • N.C. female warrant officer leads the way November 12, 2009
      Newly promoted Chief Warrant Officer 4 Elizabeth Bohannon, the first female Soldier to achieve this rank in the North Carolina National Guard, juggles folders and papers, as her sock monkey stands guard on her desk, screening incoming traffic in need of her attention.
    • Experience earned and shared November 12, 2009
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      An Oregon Native works with the Iraqi army bomb disposal units and Iraqi police counter explosive teams. He teaches the IA tactics, techniques and procedures on how to defeat a network of people who place and build improvised explosive devices all across northern Iraq.
    • Operational Update, Nov. 12: Afghan-International Joint Security Forces Detain Taliban Commander, Haqqani Facilitator, Militants in Southern Afghanistan November 12, 2009
      Afghan and international security forces killed several enemy militants and detained a group of suspected militants in Zankhan district, Ghazni province, today. Those detained included a sought after Taliban commander who was in charge of as many as 50 fighters.
    • Veterans Day holds new meaning to Soldiers, Marines in Iraq November 11, 2009
      Surrounded by fellow service members, 157 Soldiers and Marines, representing 60 countries, sat in the rotunda of Camp Victory's Al Faw Palace in Baghdad Nov. 11, during a naturalization ceremony. Their wait would soon be over and their future would begin— this time as a United States citizen.

Task Force Phoenix VIII

I know that a lot of people have questions about what exactly I’ll be doing in Afghanistan.  I also know that the average person doesn’t really have a good understanding of the military or the intricacies of the wars overseas.

This page isnt going to be a conclusive document that explains it all, but I would like to give you all some information about where I’ll be going and what I’ll be doing.

I’ll keep working on this page and updating it with more sources as I find them.

As the title says, the name of my mission is “Task Force Phoenix VIII.”  To help give you a little better understanding, a “task force” is a group of units or soldiers (kind of like a committee in a corporate environment) that is given a specific mission.  My task force is comprised of MANY different units from MANY different countries.  We’ve got everyone from the British and French to the Romanian and Polish.

I bet you’re wondering what the VIII part is for, right?  I know the name of my Task Force sounds like a lame mid ’90s war movie; most likely staring Steven Seagal, but it really just means that when my unit assumes command, we will be the 8th unit to do so.  This mission has been underway for a long time and a lot of progress has been made so far.

“You mentioned a mission… what the heck are you doing there?”  Okay, so finally I’ll get to what I’ll actually be doing there.  My mission is:

TF Phoenix mentors ANA to conduct sustained, independent Counter
Insurgency operations in Afghanistan to assist the ANA to defeat
terrorism within its borders.

Basically, we are trying to teach the Afghan people to defend themselves against all threats (read: insurgents of all types).  We do this by mentoring the Afghan military leaders so that they can become self sufficient and able to operate, train, and defend themselves and their country.

Resources:

http://phnxv.taskforcephoenix.com/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afgahanistan

13 Responses

  1. Dad, on August 12th, 2008 at 1:58 pm Said:

    Could info Joe..

    Reply
  2. Dad, on August 12th, 2008 at 1:59 pm Said:

    Meant “Good info”

    Reply
  3. Tim, on August 15th, 2008 at 5:27 pm Said:

    your putting alot of work into this site, i like it keep it up bro
    =]

    Reply
  4. Kevin, on September 13th, 2008 at 3:49 pm Said:

    Where can I get a good Hi-Rez image of the TaskForce Phoenix logo you have on the page?
    Thanks!

    Reply
  5. joegeis, on September 18th, 2008 at 8:41 pm Said:

    check out the top resource listed at the end of my post. That is where I got the logo from.

    Reply
  6. mysonsasoldier,too, on September 30th, 2008 at 8:55 am Said:

    Thank you, Joe for giving this info… my son and grandson will be joining this mission soon… God Bless All Of You! MamaVegas

    Reply
  7. Josh, on October 26th, 2008 at 10:14 pm Said:

    Thanks for keeping our families and friends current on what it is we are doing, maybe I will see you there.
    (33rd BCT)

    Reply
  8. Dad, on November 11th, 2008 at 9:03 pm Said:

    I know you wont be able to read this for some time Son but on this veterans day I just want say thank you to you and all of your Brothers in Arms for all that you do for us, our country, and the world.

    God Bless you all and Godspeed

    Reply
  9. Dad, on January 19th, 2009 at 7:44 pm Said:

    Joe is there a new Task Force Phoenix web site yet?
    I have looked but cannot find anything new

    Reply
  10. joegeis, on February 21st, 2009 at 9:50 am Said:

    2 months later and we still don’t have a website, sheesh…
    I also have to find our new logo. The one posted is of CJTFP VII. :\

    Reply
  11. Dad, on February 26th, 2009 at 7:20 pm Said:

    Joe just a comment about that hit counter….Wow!

    I think you are helping to keep a lot of people informed about your tour.

    I search on google for other blogs and have found a few. I think yours is the best by far no bias here

    Reply
  12. Scott, on May 17th, 2009 at 11:21 am Said:

    Joe, last year I was involved with the accidental death of a young boy on J-bad highway. I’ve been trying to get a contact E-mail from Jag…….could you offer me a P.O.C. there. I need to get a copy of my sworn statement.. Thanks Lt Twitchell

    Reply
  13. Hearon, on September 23rd, 2009 at 6:53 pm Said:

    I was the advance team leader for BG Pritt during Task Force Phoenix V. You might have seen our Thunderbird on the Chow hall. TFP II and then we were assigned at SECFOR in TFP V. Great to see the mission is still continuing on. I am interested in the changes at Phoenix and Kabul.

    Reply

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