Soldier slain in Iraq laid to rest; Officer's bravery remembered at Fort Campbell

FORT CAMPBELL , Ky. — Family, friends and soldiers from around the world came to Kentucky yesterday to bid farewell to Lt. Col. Kim Orlando, who was killed in a gun battle Oct. 16 in Iraq.

"Right from the beginning he was an out-front soldier, and that's how he went out," Jessie Martin of Fort Bragg, N.C., who served in basic training with Orlando and remained a friend, said after the funeral at Fort Campbell, home of the 101st Airborne Division.

"He was constantly moving to the front and disregarding his own well-being so he could be there with the peacekeepers," Maj. Darryl Johnson, another friend, said during the service. "He was always moving to the hottest spot in our sector. ... This was Kim's place, his duty, his purpose and his love."

Orlando, 43, who joined the Army as an enlisted man and later became an officer and commander of a military police battalion, is the highest-ranking Fort Campbell soldier to die in combat since the Vietnam War and the 25th soldier from the post to die in the Iraq theater.  During the hour long funeral at the post's Memorial Chapel, mourners sang "Amazing Grace" and two chaplains read Bible verses. A pair of boots and a combat rifle with a beret draped over it were placed in front of the mourners.  Two other soldiers from the 716th Military Police Battalion that Orlando commanded died with him in the attack by insurgents in Karbala.

Orlando was remembered during the service as a leader who risked his own safety to accompany his men on dangerous missions.  Retired Col. Terry Moreau, who once commanded Orlando, recalled him as someone who set lofty goals and then reached — and often exceeded — them while never losing sight of his family and children.

"How he balanced everything from the military to his family to God ... he was one of the few that could," said Moreau, his voice occasionally faltering. "He was not all about the Army. He was a great family man and a great husband.

ORLANDO'S FAMILY lived at Fort Campbell, and his wife, Sherry, works on the post.  Moreau said Orlando's drive to succeed played into all facets of his life. Orlando did not have a brawny weightlifter's frame but began lifting fervently and nearly doubled his bench press to 300 pounds, he said.  Moreau also recalled that he once mentioned to Orlando on a sweltering summer afternoon that the air conditioning was out in several MP guard shacks at Fort Campbell. Soon, Moreau said, he stepped out on a balcony near his office and saw Orlando's pickup truck "brimming over" with air conditioners to cool the shacks.  Another time, Orlando asked to be excused from an important meeting, Moreau said. When he asked Orlando for a reason, Moreau said he received a muffled response. When he asked Orlando to speak up, he said Orlando replied, "I've got to take my wife to a Barry Manilow concert."  Moreau said Orlando sheepishly asked to keep that a secret. "Your secret is safe with me," Moreau said he told Orlando.  Johnson hailed Orlando as a "warrior out front protecting our way of life." He said Orlando had an "infectious attitude" that rubbed off on those around him and under his command.  And while Orlando has served at other bases and in other countries, Johnson said, "When you talked to him for more than five minutes, he'd talk about the 101st," and said Fort Campbell was his home.  Johnson said Orlando always was telling him stories about his sons.

"I know of no more down-to-earth, straightforward and honest person. He was the salt of the earth," he said. "There was not a day that went by he did not tell a track or a Cub Scout story."

Sgt. Maj. Rodney Smith, who also served under Orlando in Iraq, said Orlando was known as a meticulous trainer and teacher who enforced rigorous standards.

"I DON'T THINK you're ever prepared for something like this, yet we train every day of our life to prepare for it," he said.

The 716th was not assigned to Northern Iraq with the 101st, and instead deployed with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force and was assigned in Central Iraq, where it patrolled cities, guarded convoys and helped get local Iraqi police departments trained and organized.  The military said it is still investigating the circumstances of Orlando's death. News accounts said Orlando and a small group of his soldiers had been on a joint patrol with local police investigating reports of armed insurgents violating a nighttime curfew on the streets of the holy Shiite Muslim city.  The accounts say Orlando was talking to armed Iraqis loyal to a local cleric near a mosque when tempers flared. An insurgent brandished a pistol and Orlando reached for his sidearm, and an American soldier reportedly fired a warning shot, the reports say. An exchange of gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades followed, killing Orlando, Staff Sgt. Joseph P. Bellavia, 28, of Wakefield, Mass.; and Cpl. Sean R. Grilley, 24, of San Bernardino, Calif.  Ten Iraqis also were killed.

Orlando received a bachelor's degree from Baylor University and a master's in public administration from Central Michigan University. He also was a graduate of the FBI academy at Quantico, Va.  Orlando previously had served as deputy provost marshal at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe in Belgium and as a military police instructor at Fort McClellan, Ala., and with MP detachments in Germany.  Orlando is survived by two sons, Gregory and Jason, in addition to his wife. A native of Nashville, Tenn., Orlando was buried there following the funeral.  At the service, Brig. Gen. Ben Freakley with the 101st Airborne awarded the Bronze Star for valor posthumously to Orlando. "Kim was right where he knew he had to be," said Freakley.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Attack on Iraq Remembrance
LTC Kim S. Orlando - Killed October 16, 2003 - Karbala, Iraq

Sunday, October 19, 2003
By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press Writer

KARBALA, Iraq - The American lieutenant colonel was chatting amiably with gunmen guarding the home of a Shiite Muslim cleric, urging them to join the police force.  Suddenly, a weapon was drawn. Voices were raised. A warning shot was fired. Soon 13 people, including the colonel, were dead.  Lt. Col. Kim S. Orlando, 43, was the highest-ranking U.S. Army officer killed by hostile fire since the U.S.-led war on Iraq began March 20. Two Iraqi police and eight gunmen also were killed, and seven Americans wounded.  The U.S. military is still investigating last week's violence, but witness accounts Sunday of the shootings show how — in highly charged Iraq — events can turn deadly, fast.

"It was not the intention of the Americans or the intention of the master's guards to fight," said Sayed Alaa al-Jaza'ari, referring to guards of Ayatollah Mahmoud al-Hassani.  "But the gunmen are always nervous when they see the Americans."

He and other witnesses described how  violence erupted as Kim, commander of the 716th Military Police Battalion, and his forces were helping Iraqi police investigate reports of armed men on the streets of this holy Shiite Muslim city.  The joint patrol Thursday was trying to enforce a nationwide ban on carrying weapons in public without a permit and a 9 p.m. curfew, imposed in Najaf recently after clashes between rival Shiite Muslim groups.  At the cleric's house, Iraqi policemen pleaded with the armed guards for 45 minutes to either go inside the ayatollah's house, conceal their weapons or point them downward, Al-Jaza'ari told The Associated Press.  The senior American officer, apparently Orlando, stepped forward to try to reason with the gunmen.

"You can join the police and make a good salary," al-Jaza'ari quoted Orlando as saying through an interpreter.  "The man was in good humor and relaxed," al-Jaza'ari said of the U.S. officer. "But the gunmen were very nervous. They behaved ignorantly, and the one talking to the commander was brandishing his pistol."

With a handgun waving about in front of him, Orlando became agitated, witnesses said. He asked the man to put away his weapon. When the gunman refused, Orlando tried to apprehend him.

"At this point, the translator screamed in English, 'No! No!'" al-Jaza'ari said. "Then a female American soldier fired a warning shot and the shooting began."

The Iraqi account, if true, underscores the difficulty facing the U.S.-led coalition as it strives to restore order in this turbulent, mainly Muslim country with a culture and mores often difficult for Americans to understand.  In Iraq, owning a firearm is considered manly. Saddam Hussein — who had a passion for firearms — made no serious effort to police them up. Furthermore, prominent religious and political leaders are loathe to disband their private armed guard forces because the coalition has failed to guarantee security six months after ousting Saddam.  But the presence of such armed groups stokes fears of bloody clashes between rival groups.  Although Iraqis said Orlando sought to keep the confrontation relaxed, many Iraqis perceive the Americans as trigger-happy and swap tales of bystanders killed by random shooting following guerrilla attacks or by nervous soldiers manning nighttime checkpoints.  Such stories, regardless of whether they are true, contribute to a sense of tension among Iraqis every time they see groups of armed Americans.  Al-Hassani, a university-trained civil engineer, moved here after the collapse of Saddam's regime and attracted hundreds of followers who gathered outside his house every week to see his counsel.  Ali Mohsen, 28, a seminary student and a neighbor, said al-Hassani studied at the holy city of Najaf under Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr, the late father of radical cleric  Muqtada al-Sadr. Posters of the elder al-Sadr and al-Hassani himself were removed Sunday from the wall of the house, whose small metal door was blocked by old furniture.  On Sunday, a coalition official said 40 people were arrested in Karbala after the clashes. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said 13 of them have already been released.  The cleric al-Hassani, believed to be in his late 30's, went into hiding with his wife and three children soon after the deadly clash.

Ceremony 'Weighs Heavily' As Unit Colors Passed On

By Pfc. Chris Jones, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service

BABYLON, Iraq, Nov. 3, 2003 – In the arid, ancient Iraqi city of Babylon, soldiers of the 716th Military Police Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) watched Maj. Gen. David Petraeus, 101st commander, pass their unit's colors to a new commander here Nov. 2.  But the ceremony had an added edge of sadness: A skirmish in Karbala had left the battalion's former leader, Lt. Col. Kim Orlando, and two other soldiers dead Oct. 16. Lt. Col. Ashton Hayes took command of the battalion in the assumption-of-command ceremony.

"As many of you know, there is a formula for change-of-command ceremonies," said Petraeus to the battalion's soldiers. "Today's ceremony, however, is not a normal change of command. If it were, we would be standing on the freshly cut grass of the division parade field. Our families would be in the bleachers and, of course, the outgoing commander would be sitting next to the incoming commander.

"We all know what's missing today – our families, Lt. Col. Orlando, and several of your other comrades. And those absences, especially that of (Lt.) Col. Orlando, who would have played such a key role in this ceremony, weigh heavily on us… so though all changes of command are emotional occasions, this one is unquestionably more so."

Orlando led the "Peacekeepers", the most decorated military police battalion in the U.S. Army, throughout Operation Iraqi Freedom, in support of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, directing the establishment of seven Iraqi police academies where more than 6,000 Iraqi policemen were trained, Petraeus said.

"In short, this battalion is awesome," he continued, turning to the incoming commander. "Lt. Col. Hayes, I know that you recognize what a great unit this is, a unit whose MPs have been battle-tested and shown themselves to be tough, competent and courageous. They have withstood the loss of their commander and fellow soldiers and friends, and they've continued the mission, never faltering and never wavering."

Much of Hayes' experience comes from his time at Fort Bragg, N.C., as deputy provost marshal, 82nd Airborne Division, operations officer and later executive officer for the 16th MP Brigade, were among his positions while at Fort Bragg.  Following Orlando's death, Hayes was quick to respond to the void the 101st was left with, Petraeus said. "Upon notification that we needed him here in Iraq, he immediately packed up, kissed his family goodbye and moved out. Clearly, this is a leader who can shift gears, accept a new mission, move out and make it happen."

Hayes had few words for his new battalion, heeding the tragedy of Orlando's death and vowing to carry on the triumphs of the unit.  "Two weeks ago, the battalion took a hit," said Hayes. "But it did not fall and it did not stumble… you have never faltered in your job, and that's about all a leader can ask of his soldiers."  While the ceremony marked the induction of a new battalion commander, it also acted as a final tribute to Orlando.

"To be sure, we have said farewell to and honored Col. Orlando here, and back home he was honored as well – where police cars and fire engines lined the road and manned every overpass and exit on the route taken by the four-mile long funeral procession (Oct. 24) from Fort Campbell to Nashville (Orlando's hometown)," Petraeus said. "Nonetheless, this ceremony is one more painful reminder that the 716th lost its commander and two of its great soldiers a few weeks ago."

Soldiers pay their last respects to Army Lt. Col. Kim S. Orlando during a Tuesday memorial ceremony at Camp Babylon in Karbala, Iraq. Orlando, from Nashville, Tenn., was killed in action in Karbala on Oct 16 during a joint mission with Iraqi national police. Polish Army / AP Photo. 

3 MPs killed in firefight
Fort Campbell soldiers in Iraq were trying to break up gathering

By  JILL NOELLE CECIL
The Leaf-Chronicle

Three Fort Campbell soldiers were killed Friday in Iraq during a firefight with gunmen guarding the headquarters of a Shiite cleric.  The soldiers were killed while attempting to negotiate with the armed men, who were gathered after the 9 p.m. curfew on a road near a mosque in the Shiite holy city Karbala in southern Iraq, according to a statement from Fort Campbell released Friday.  The Iraqis opened fire, killing the three soldiers and wounding seven others, Fort Campbell officials said. Two Iraqi policemen were also killed in the gun battle.

Eight of the Iraqi gunmen died and up to 18 were wounded in the battle, which started about midnight Thursday and continued intermittently until late Friday morning.  Pentagon officials said they were investigating how the shooting began. Iraqis insisted the Americans fired first.  The soldiers were members of the 101st Airborne Division. The deaths bring Fort Campbell's death toll in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom to 26. Thirteen of those deaths were the result of enemy fire.  Killed in the gun battle were Lt. Col. Kim S. Orlando, 43, of Tennessee; Staff Sgt. Joseph P. Bellavia, 28, of Wakefield, Mass.; and Cpl. Sean R. Gilley, 24, of San Bernardino, Calif.  The three were all members of the 716th Military Police Battalion.

Orlando was the commander of the battalion. He also served in Desert Shield and Desert Storm.  Orlando is one of three Army lieutenant colonels killed in the war, the highest rank of any American military personnel killed, according to a list of American war dead compiled by Bloomberg News Service.  The other two lieutenant colonels were Anthony L. Sherman, 43, of Pottstown, Pa., an Army Reservist in a Civil Affairs unit who died Aug. 27 of a non-combat medical problem, and Dominic R. Baragona, 42, of Niles, Ohio, commander of the 19th Maintenance Battalion based at Fort Sill, Okla., who was killed in a wreck May 19.

Orlando joined the Army in 1982 and in June 2002 came from Fort Bragg, where he was the executive officer of the 18th Airborne Military Police Command, said Eric Provost, chief of Austin Peay State University's campus police department and a former military police commander.  Orlando was a master parachutist, a formal designation the military gives for its most experienced paratroopers.

He was also a recipient of the Bronze Star, which is given for heroic or meritorious achievement or service in connection with military operations against an armed enemy or during military operations involving conflict with an opposing armed force.  "He was a great officer, a great commander, a great husband and father. This is a tragic loss for the military police," Provost said.  Fort Campbell spokesman John Minton said Orlando, despite his rank, often worked among the rank-and-file.  "I've known him a long time," Minton said. "This was a hard-charging guy, an out-in-the-front kind of guy."

He is survived by his wife, Sherry, who works with Fort Campbell's Public Affairs Office, and two sons who live at Fort Campbell.

By MIKE TORRALBA
Associated Press

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - The highest-ranking Army officer killed in hostile fire in Iraq never hesitated to lead his soldiers personally, whether on a three-mile run in below-freezing temperatures or on patrol in the streets of Karbala.  That was how comrades from the 101st Airborne Division remembered Lt. Col. Kim S. Orlando during a funeral service this morning.

Six pallbearers, decked in the dark-green ceremonial uniforms bearing the "Screaming Eagle" patch of the 101st, waited patiently to bring Orlando's casket into the brick-and-glass chapel. They stood at attention for nearly an hour as hundreds of family, friends and soldiers filed in.  Maj. Darryl Johnson, of the 716th Military Police Battalion, said Orlando, the battalion commander, was "constantly moving to the front and disregarding his own safety."

Orlando's funeral was held the same day the Army announced that another soldier from the division was killed by small arms fire in Mosul, Iraq. That soldier was not immediately identified.  Orlando's death shocked soldiers and friends.  Terry Moreau, a retired colonel and former commander of the 716th, said he has received numerous messages of condolence, some angry, since Orlando was killed.

"Expletives were not deleted," he said. "I got to tell you, there's a lot of frustration there" among Orlando's men.  Orlando, 43, was posthumously award the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. He was among three Fort Campbell soldiers killed Oct. 16 in a clash with gunmen guarding the headquarters of a Shiite cleric in southern Iraq.  The two other soldiers killed were Staff Sgt. Joseph P. Bellavia, 28, of Wakefield, Mass.; and Cpl. Sean R. Grilley, 24, of San Bernardino, Calif. Services for Bellavia and Grilley were pending, according to a statement from Fort Campbell.

The battalion comprised no fewer than 400 soldiers, and Orlando made it a point to learn the name of each one, said Sgt. Maj. Rodney Smith, a battalion member.  "For a battalion commander to know your name, that touches anybody," Smith said.  His soldiers and his family were paramount to Orlando. When not on duty, he spent as much time as possible with his wife, Sherry, and his two sons, Gregory, 16, and Jason, 10.  He enlisted in the Army as a military policeman in 1982 and was commissioned at Fort Benning, Ga., in 1986. He served in the 1991 Persian Gulf War, and thereafter rose quickly to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was picked to study at the FBI's National Academy in Quantico, Va. - an exclusive honor for military policemen.

Friends and comrades said Orlando excelled in everything he expected from his soldiers, including physical fitness.  Chaplain Maj. Steve Turner recalled participating in a particular run Orlando led his soldiers on one frigid January morning. Shorts only - no warmup pants; jackets were optional.  "We got to the line; the whistle blew. And Col. Orlando led the pack," Turner said. "He led by example."  When the service ended, soldiers emerged from the chapel, adjusting their black berets. A funeral procession left Fort Campbell for Nashville National Cemetery for a private burial in Tennessee, where Orlando grew up.  Two other Army lieutenant colonels have died in the war, one in a traffic accident and one of non-combat injuries.