A former U.S. Army soldier was sentenced to 45 years in prison for attempting to provide a Europe-based neo-Nazi, Satanist, and pro-jihadist group by giving it classified information to attack his. . The 8th of November is a significant date in our Brigade's history as the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment repelled an ambush of 1,200 Viet Cong and continued their mission throughout the Battle of Dak To despite their losses. 3. . O9A members are instructed to fulfill sinister deeds, including insight roles, where they attempt to infiltrate various organizations, including the military, to gain training and experience, commit acts of violence, identify like-minded individuals, and ultimately subvert those groups from within. First Military Choice. An ex-soldier was sentenced to 45 years in prison for attempting to murder U.S. service members, providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists and illegally transmitting national defense information, the Department of Justice announced Friday. Air Force). I would've died successfully cause another 10 year war in the Middle East would definitely leave a mark," authorities said. In an instant, he leaped on the device, shielding the blast with his body. Peters, a pro-Trump conspiracy theorist, is best known for being indicted last year on completely separate charges of election tampering and misconduct, after she allegedly breached voting equipment to try to prove the 2020 presidential election was stolen. The New York Times. Carlos Lozada, after receiving orders to retreat back up the hill, provided covering fire, at times walking backward up the hill spraying M-60 machine-gun fire into the brush on either side of the trail. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. While there, he consumed extremists propaganda from O9A and the Islamic State. The 173rd Airborne Brigade serves as the conventional airborne strategic response force for Europe. Because of intense PAVN sniper and mortar fire (and the terrain), it took until nightfall for the relief force to reach the beleaguered battalion. [53] The following morning Bravo Company was relieved by Lieutenant Colonel David J. Schumacher's 1503, which (against the admonitions of Colonel Livsey) was divided into two small task forces. Lozada stayed behind and poured deadly machine-gun fire on an advancing NVA force, allowing his company to safely withdraw. [132], Numerous servicemen from the 173rd, mostly from the Vietnam era, gained notability after their military careers ended. The acrid odor of decaying and rotting flesh combined with the smells of vomit, feces, urine, blood, gunpowder and napalm etched itself permanently into the memories of those who were on Hill 875, Murphy wrote. Specifically, they sought to destroy Special Forces camps at Ben Het, about five miles east of the Cambodian border, and at Dak To, some 10 miles east of Ben Het. 12/24/2003. The 173rd Airborne Brigade currently consists of 3,300 soldiers[6] in seven subordinate battalions as well as a headquarters company:[7], All of these units are airborne qualified, making the 173rd Airborne Brigade the only separate airborne IBCT in the United States Army. In May 2020, the Army told Melzer he would be assigned to another unit slated for deployment where they would be guarding a military base. Noted for its roles in Operation Hump and Operation Junction City, the 173rd is best known for the Battle of Dak To, where it suffered heavy casualties in close combat with North Vietnamese forces. The bill is part of a package of so-called parental empowerment and child safety legislation that includes a ban on instruction of sexual orientation or gender identity for students through Grade 8, and requiring licensed health care facilities to attest that they do not provide sex-reassignment prescriptions or procedures to patients under 18 years of age, the State Senates office announced in a news release. (Photo: U.S. Army) In May 2020, the Army told Melzer he would be assigned to another unit slated for deployment where they would be guarding a military base. 2/503rd 2014-2015 In November 1967, the 173rd Airborne Brigade and the 4th Infantry Divisions 1st Brigade slugged it out with four NVA regiments in the Central Highlands. A second base was opened in Vicenza called Del Din and is the current headquarters of the 173rd. Only two weeks before the brigade was to return to Europe, a platoon of 45 soldiers from the brigade stationed in the Dara-I-Pech district was attacked by a large force of insurgents during the Battle of Wanat. Melzer, 22, was arrested last spring in Italy, where he served with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, and pleaded not guilty in September to eight charges, including conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals . In November 1967, North Vietnamese Army (NVA) units were determined to rid the Central Highlands of American forces. He arrived in Italy in October 2019 and subscribed to encrypted online forums in which he downloaded and accessed videos of jihadist attacks on U.S. troops and facilities and jihadist executions of civilians and soldiers, in addition to far-right, neo-Nazi, and other white supremacist propaganda. 98. The 173rd Airborne Brigade has received 21 campaign streamers and several unit awards, including the Presidential Unit Citation for its actions during the Battle of Dak To during the Vietnam War. Pfc. [123][124][122][120][121][119][125] He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. Melzer is a 22-year-old infantryman assigned to the 173rd Airborne's 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, in Vicenza, Italy, 173rd spokesman Maj. Chris Bradley told Military.com. Headquarters and Headquarters Company The U.S. camps represented a major roadblock at the southern end of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. 2nd Battalion was initially attached to 4th Brigade, 4th Infantry Division and conducted stability and combat operations in Kunar Province for the first half of the deployment. Last year a former member of an Air Force security team was sentenced to life in prison for murdering a police officer in the name of sparking a second civil war. Web. ; 1st and 3rd battalions of the 12th Inf. . Interrogators also employed a technique called the "water rag", which involved pouring water onto a rag covering the captive's nose and mouth, which creates the sensatation of drowning and can lead to death by asphyxiation. The 3rd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment (3-319th) of the 82nd Airborne Division, was attached to the brigade and organized as a maneuver task force (Task Force Gun Devil). The plan eliminated regiments but reintroduced brigades to the Army's structure, allowing three brigades to a division. 4th ID had to relocate their forces from Turkey to Kuwait and were subsequently slowed down in Baghdad. In essence, Washington Green was a second Operation Fairfax, but without the presence of ARVN regulars. SENATE GOP PLOTS CONFRONTATION OF WOKE PENTAGON AS MILITARY READINESS, MORALE PLUMMET, U.S Army badge is seen on a uniform of American soldier. The FBI New York Joint Terrorism Task Force investigated the case, with valuable assistance provided by the FBIs Legal Attach Office in Rome; the Air Force Office of Special Investigations; U.S. Army Counterintelligence; U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command; and the U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service. Americans serving their country overseas should never have to fear a terrorist attack from within their own ranks, and todays sentence holds him accountable for his deadly plan to attack the brave men and women of the armed forces who protect our nation.. The fighting was intense and lasted into the fall, when the North Vietnamese seemingly withdrew. [3][4] The remaining units of the 173rd were inactivated. 5, March 1970 173rd Airborne Brigade Newsletter A bolt of an AK47 rifle betrayed an enemy ambush, and soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile) turned the tables on the Viet Cong. [140] Lloyd G. McCarter and Ray E. Eubanks earned the medal while fighting with the 503rd Infantry in World War II, while 13 other soldiers earned medals fighting under the 173rd in Vietnam; John A. Barnes III, Michael R. Blanchfield, Glenn H. English Jr., Lawrence Joel, Terry T. Kawamura, Carlos J. Lozada, Don L. Michael, Charles B. Morris, Milton L. Olive III, Larry S. Pierce, Laszlo Rabel, Alfred Rascon, and Charles J. [77] This meant that the entire northern front of the war would be conducted by the 173rd Airborne Brigade and Army special forces operating with aircraft from Europe as their only supply line. Army paratroopers assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade conduct a combined arms exercise in Germany. "Todays sentence holds Mr. Melzer accountable for an egregious and shameful act of betrayal against his own military unit and his country," said Assistant U.S. Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Departments National Security Division. 1st Cavalry Division units1st Bn., 12th Cav Regt., and 2nd Bn., 8th Cavalryalso played a part in the campaign. cause another 10 year war in the Middle East would definitely leave a mark. Melzer also acknowledged in his messages that he deleted some of the communications regarding the planning of the attack because the plot amounted to treason. MICHAEL LEVENSON. By 3 p.m., Terrence Maitland and Peter McInerney wrote in A Contagion of War, the C Company commander reported they were surrounded by 200 to 300 NVA and under attack by mortars, automatic weapons and B-40 rockets.. "He deserved punishment, but he also deserved the chance to prove he could do something positive with his life. Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right. It was reorganized in December 1921 at Mobile, Alabama, redesignated on 23 March 1925 as the HHC 173rd Brigade, and redesignated as HHC 173rd Infantry Brigade on 24 August 1936. 12 June 2005. Melzer joined the U.S. Army in approximately 2018 and infiltrated its ranks as part of an insight role to further his goals as an O9A adherent. [84] As the preparations for the brigade were in their final stages, it moved 10 trains and 300 trucks worth of equipment to the air base, as well as 120 busloads of soldiers. U.S. Army paratroopers assigned to 2nd Battalion, 503rd Airborne Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade conduct an ambush on Cypriot troops during a force-on-force squad-level blank fire training exercise in Larnaca, Cyprus, Feb. 16, 2023, as part of Exercise Silver Falcon 23. As part of his plot, he planned on sharing additional security details of the base once in Turkey in order to maximize damage done in an attack.
