Army Spec. Jose Garcia has returned to the 173rd Airborne
Brigade in Vicenza, Italy, after completing a deployment to Iraq in
support of Operation Iraqi Freedom with additional participation in
Operation Northern Delay.
Army Spec. Jose Garcia has returned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vicenza, Italy, after completing a deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom with additional participation in Operation Northern Delay.
During Operation Northern Delay at Bashir Airfield, the brigade paratroppers established the northernmost coalition offensive boundary and created a stable logistical intersecting point to allow the introduction of equipment and troops into the theater. The operation was the largest airborne assault since World War II and forced Iraqi army to maintain approximately six divisions in the area to protect their northern flank, providing strategic relief for the Coalition Forces advancing on Baghdad.
The multiple operations missions of the brigade paratroopers included seizing the city of Kirkuk, the northern oil fields and several military airfields, thousands of enemy weapons and explosives, millions of dollars worth of terrorist funds, and defeated organized military resistance and arrested hundreds terrorist and former regime loyalists.
Garcia, an infantryman, is the son of Maria Garcia of Hollister. He is a 2001 graduate of San Andreas High School.
Air Force Airman Johnathan T. Frantz graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas.
During the six weeks of training, the airman studied the Air Force mission, organization, and military customs and courtesies; performed drill and ceremony marches, and received physical training, rifle marksmanship, field training exercises, and special training in human relations. In addition, he ompleted basic training earn credits toward an associate’s degree through the Community College of the Air Force.
Frantz is the son of William Frantz of Wilda Way, Aromas. He is a 2002 graduate of the Monte Vista Christian School in Watsonville.
