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| Sgt. 1st Class Charles Adcock, Task Force 1-37 Armor assistant operations sergeant, walks down the convoy telling Soldiers to mount up after a brief stop just south of Baghdad. Task Force 1-37 Armor convoyed to Camp Lima southeast of Baghdad in support of Operation Rapier Thrust. |
TF 1-37 Armor moves out to missions
Story and photo by Spc. Andrew Meissner, 1st AD Public Affairs With Task Force 1-37, Iraq -- Many of the Solders of the 1st Armored Division’s 1st Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment, “Bandits,” are closing in on their first year of deployment during Operation Iraqi Freedom. And, with this anniversary comes a change in scenery and missions for the Bandits. Leaving their forward operating base, known as Bandit Island, they are relocating to camps southeast of Baghdad to take on a major role in Operation Rapier Thrust. Augmented by engineer, infantry and military police elements, Task Force 1-37 Armor is ready to complete its missions. The task force will be team up with Coalition partner units from Poland and Thailand in the Multi-National Division -- Central South. But, the first undertaking in their mission is getting task force juggernaut from Baghdad to its new home. The first Bandit convoy to head south of Baghdad -- the advance party -- would establish the tactical operations center. The advance party would serve as a litmus test for the newly chosen convoy route -- an untested, untried course bypassing known areas of enemy activity. The 1st Brigade Reconnaissance Team (BRT) and cavalry scouts from the task force provided forward reconnaissance and security while AH-64 Apache helicopters provided aerial overwatch. The convoy commanders did not pretend to think that this would be an easy move. “This is not a ruck (sack) march or a road march. This is a movement to contact,” said convoy officer-in-charge Capt. Jason Irwin, battalion logistics officer (S-4), during his pre-convoy safety briefing. The convoy was diverse collection of vehicles that included Humvees, Bradley Fighting Vehicles and M1A1 Abrams tanks hauled on Heavy Equipment Transport Trailers (HETT). “The tanks and Brads will be manned,” Irwin said, “I expect them to fire upon contact. If necessary, we will break the chains and bring them down (from the trailers).” The convoy traveled through several small villages. Rolling through the thinning roads, the atmosphere seemed tense, but the Soldiers were not worried. “We didn’t have a welcoming committee,” said master gunner Sgt. 1st Class Michael Watson, “but I didn’t think anything was going to happen.” The convoy rolled through the villages and a voice crackled over the radio announcing that no future convoys would be taking that route. The Task Force arrived at its destination having traveled about 100 kilometers. The entrance to Camp Lima, their new home, was plainly marked with a guardhouse manned by Thai forces. “I was happy the convoy was executed smoothly with few hitches,” Irwin said after the convoy arrived. “I was particularly impressed with the (cavalry) scout and BRT elements leading us through hostile territory at night. And, I was also very grateful for the (AH-64) air support. Those three elements were integral to our success.” The Bandits had arrived at their new home. |
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