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Posted on 05/16/2004 5:29:51 PM PDT by Ragtime Cowgirl
By Spc. Andrew Meissner
1st Armored Division Public Affairs Office
WITH TASK FORCE 1-37, Iraq –For two successive nights last week, Soldiers of B
Company, 16th Engineer Battalion traversed the streets of Karbala in support of Operation Iron Saber.
The company is part of the 1st Brigade Combat Team of V Corps' Task Force 1st Armored
Division.
The first night of operations found the combat engineers setting roadblocks and conducting dismounted security in support of tank, infantry, and air assaults on known militia strong points in
that city. The roadblocks were intended to encircle and trap escaping enemy forces, said team leader 1st Lt. David Drake.
"We're the ground-pounders out here, making sure (the Soldiers manning the roadblock) have
good security on the ground. We've done a lot of this stuff," he said.
The evening was filled with uncertainty as the sounds of explosions echoed down the streets
and red tracer fire streamed overhead.
Soldiers assigned to secure the area acted with deliberate speed, deftly stringing concertina wire across the broad boulevards.
The teams found cover in the underbrush, in dry irrigation ditches and under covered alleyways, denying the enemy pathways of escape around cordon.
Pvt. James Watkins is an M249 Squad Automatic Weapon gunner for the company's 1st Platoon. He said the engineers are skilled in many areas.
"Whatever they (the other Soldiers) need help with, we can do it," he said.
Although there was no contact with the enemy during their operations, the engineers knew their contribution was necessary to the whole effort.
"I was hoping we'd be able to see more … but we did our part," Watkins said.
After only a few hours of sleep, the engineers were out again the following night. This time the mission was a search for weapons at an abandoned amusement park.
Dismounted infantrymen initially combed the area, encountering some resistance, which they quickly dispatched.
After the infantry secured the park, it was the engineers' turn to fan out. "You have to do most of your soldiering first, and be a mechanic second," said 1st Platoon mechanic Pfc. William Lockey. "Actually, it's been quite challenging. Most mechanics don't do the things I do."
The engineers did not need ground-penetrating radar to find the weapons and ammunition caches that evening. The hidden contents of the park were slowly being discovered by visual searches.
Many of the small structures in the park contained deadly weapons of war: mortars, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, heavy caliber ammunition and improvised explosive devices --many ready to be put to use.
The sappers collected the ordnance and destroyed them. In a thunderous explosion, the weapons disintegrated so completely that none of the items were left for salvage.
Pfc. Alec Fowler, a M113 armored personnel carrier driver, said missions like this validate the task force's move to Karbala to provide a safe and secure community for the city's residents.
"They sent us here because they feel that there is more that (coalition forces) need to do. I have no problems staying here until it's done."
What a total waste of resources! Combat Engineers do have a secondary mission to fight as infantry BUT they can be used one hell of alot better in Iraq. Goes to show just how disperate the Command is for extra infantry and none is available.
SOLDIERS OF V CORPS' 1ST ARMORED DIVISION TRAIN FOR URBAN WARFARE IN 'GLASS HOUSE'
By Spc. Andrew Meissner
1st Armored Division Public Affairs Office
WITH TASK FORCE 1-37 ARMOR, Iraq -- Navigating down hallways and securing rooms, the Soldiers of of V Corps’ C Company, 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division, yell out their positions to each other.
Each has an assigned task. The team spreads down the walls until all corners have been locked down and secured.
But the “house” they’ve just secured isn’t really real. It consists of two-dimensional “walls” made of strips of white engineer tape pinned into the ground in assorted rectangular shapes.
It’s known as a “glass house.” And though it may be just a life-sized drawing of a floor plan, but the action inside is just as real to these Soldiers as if it had walls of plaster and stone.
The company operates out of Camp Lima, near Karbala, as part of Task Force 1-37 Armor in support of Operation Iron Saber.
Glass houses are not new to these Soldiers. They’ve trained with them at home in Germany. However, the configuration and floor plan of an Iraqi home is radically different from plans used for European structures.
There, Soldiers training for urban operations used western-style house floor plans; nothing like what they found when they arrived in Baghdad almost a year ago.
“The first house that we came into in Iraq -- we were so surprised at the layout,” said Staff Sgt. Rogelio Cortes, the company’s 2nd Platoon squad leader. “It was a lesson learned. After we did our first house raid, we had to adjust how we thought it would look.”
Keeping the company’s Soldiers safe while accomplishing their tasks is paramount to Cortes. Proper and repeated training is how that goal is achieved, he said.
“I want them to be proficient, so that once we get into a room we can dominate it,” Cortes says. “This way we create a foothold for the rest of the platoon or another squad to come through safely.”
Despite the heat and unknown terrain here, the Soldiers of the 1/36th have a job to do, and they say they’ve found that fighting in an urban environment is one of the most challenging jobs a Soldier can encounter.
“It’s very, very hard to train for an urban fight,” said team leader Spc. Michael Shea. “There are a lot of new techniques. (The only way to learn) is by repetition.”
Spc. Dennis Wells said the drill is a key training tool for his squad.
“It teaches us how to deal with combat in an urban environment, clear a room, take down the enemy,” says Wells. “We’ve had a lot of training on the job, as well as (in simulated) courses like this.”
Despite the challenge and dangers found in urban warfare, Wells said it’s all just part of being an infantryman.
“I wanted to be in the infantry,” he said. “I joined at 25 years old, and I’m 28 now. It’s what I want to do.”
For more information contact:
V Corps Public Affairs Office
Command Information Officer
DSN 370-5815 Fax 370-5898
Commercial 06221.57.5815
e-mail paoci@hq.c5.army.mil
http://www.vcorps.army.mil/WWW/NEWS/2004/may11_glass_house.htm
I respectfully disagree. Infantry is every soldier's primary mission, Military Occupational Specialty always coms second. I'm proud of these guys and am impressed by their readiness, attitude and flexibility.
"Our 2nd Armor company had the motto "It Will Be Done". These soldiers are proving it.
But your absolutely right about the need for more troops.
First Armored doesn't need tanks to kick terrorist butt. Bump
I understand all that "every soldier an infantry man/MOS stuff" BUT the main thrust is: "We do not have enough infantry in Iraq to do the mission. When you have to use Combat Engineers to fight as infantry then you are in a whole lot of trouble." Get more infantry there or get the hell out!
Lets reverse the roles. Show me on infantry company that has the equipment and training to bridge a gap from the get go.
That's why they're called Combat Engineers.
My experience is dated by almost 40 years, but, again reversing the roles, it seemed we groundpounders used to do a lot of work that was supposed to be done by the combat engineers.
Chill out.
Yup you're right, never enough Engineers to go around.
Individual and small unit field fortifications are properly constructed by the using unit. The larger mission of expediting the forward movement of the supported unit is the Combat Engineer mission.
NEW ITEM: See new post, dated 7:11 PM PDT, that one BDE of the 2d Infantry now in Korea is headed for Iraq!
Bump!
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