What should members of 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division expect as they deploy to Afghanistan this year?

More violence, the top NATO general told a Canadian newspaper.

Dutch Maj.-Gen. Mart de Kruif, the commander of security forces in southern Afghanistan (where 5th Brigade is expected to serve) told the Globe and Mail that the increase in troop levels means increased attacks from Taliban insurgents.

"You will see an increase in incidents because we will go to places where we have never been before,” he told he newspaper. "We will be able to put much more pressure on the insurgents. We will hunt them down in their save havens."

About 20,000 troops – including a U.S. Army aviation brigade and the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force – will bolster the force in Afghanistan. De Kruif also told the Globe and Mail that it could take up to a year to establish security in the region.

(Photo by Sgt. Frank Hudec, Canadian Forces Combat Camera)

Have you been wondering what's the latest with Ehren Watada, the Stryker officer who refused to deploy to Iraq?

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin offers a quick update: Basically, his case is still caught up in the system, and he's still working a desk job at I Corps.

From the article:

"The Army says it is still awaiting a decision from newly appointed U.S. Solicitor Elena Kagan, who was sworn in three weeks ago, as to whether it will appeal a federal judge's decision rendered in October.

The judge said that a second court-martial could not be held for the 1996 Kalani High School graduate pending the outcome of his claim that it would violate his Fifth Amendment rights by trying him twice for the same charges."

(Sorry most of my blogs have been links elsewhere. I return to work next week.)