Iraq POW/MIAs

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oldbillthundercheif

Moderator
So from the latest news we have three missing ("location unknown" as the pentagon doofus put it).

Are these our first military POW/MIAs in the Iraq war?

I know a bunch of contractors have been abducted and decapitated but these are the first soldiers I have heard of that have been captured... except for Jessica Lynch who was only a prisoner of some friendly Iraqi civilians who wanted to help her.

What the hell is 10th Mountain doing in Iraq anyway? We need them in Afghanistan for the brewing spring offensive. Or does Iraq have a towering mountain range that has sprung up since my map was published?
 
What the hell is 10th Mountain doing in Iraq anyway? We need them in Afghanistan for the brewing spring offensive. Or does Iraq have a towering mountain range that has sprung up since my map was published?
Click to expand...

You'd be surprised just how diverse the geography of Iraq is.

wikipedia said:
The northeastern highlands begin just south of a line drawn from Mosul to Kirkuk and extend to the borders with Turkey and Iran. High ground, separated by broad, undulating steppes, gives way to mountains ranging from 1,000 to nearly 4,000 meters (3,300 to 13,100 ft) near the Iranian and Turkish borders. Except for a few valleys, the mountain area proper is suitable only for grazing in the foothills and steppes; adequate soil and rainfall, however, make cultivation possible. Here, too, are the great oil fields near Mosul and Kirkuk. The northeast is the homeland of most Iraqi Kurds.
Click to expand...

Though of course that's not why the 10th Mountain is there. They're just being used as general purpose infantry...just like everybody else. Same way most armor battalions aren't driving tanks around.
 
10th Mntn, is a standard Inf. Div, with some additional cold weather training and gear (Ft. Drum, NY a couple of feet of snow in April one year I was there, definitly no Mtns. on post or any training area close by)

The 10th has been in almost every major event, lately except the 1st Gulf War, and that was a Armor/Mounted/APC war. The 10th was in Somalia (I know first hand there were no Mountians in Mogiadushu just a whole lot of MOUT), Hatiti, Bosnia, Afgan, and quite a few deployments to Iraq.
 
It's actually Keith Maupin (Keith Matthew?) if memory serves. Promoted from PFC to SPC (after capture) then again to Sgt., then finally to Staff Sargeant. (Three promotions while listed as POW/MIA).
 
It's Keith Matthew (went by Matt, apparently). I had forgotten (horrible, I know) about him. I guess I assumed that sometime during my deployment they had figured out what happened to him, since I didn't have a lot of access to news.

Also Ahmed Qusai al-Taayie...still missing, and it actually seems likely he might be alive.
 
Thanks junkpile and JuanCarlos...our dining facility at LSA Anaconda, Iraq is named after SSG Maupin. (Well, that was our DFAC during our last deployment.)
 
Its Keith Matthew Maupin and he goes/went by Matt. He was captured on April 9, 2004.

So many partials and nobody gets the whole picture...

He has had an impressive career since being captured. He was captured as a private first class, then was promoted to specialist, and is now a staff sergeant.
 
Actually there are 4 brigades with the 10th Mountain division, 3 stationed at
Ft. Drum, NY and 1 at Ft. Polk, LA. If I was a betting man, I would say the one stationed at Ft. Polk is the one in Iraq and the other three are rotating in and out of Afghanistan. During my tour in 2004 there was a unit from the 10th in Baghdad.
 
Old Bill, there were two other soldiers that were captured and then tortured to death, with their mutilated bodies left with booby traps. Same area where the guys are missing now. Very bad business. These soldiers supposedly put up a fight before being taken. Knowing what happened to the other guys, one wonders if they didn't think seriously about "saving the last bullet" for themselves. Very bad business. :mad:
 
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