Posted on 09/09/2003 12:06:25 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
To the passenger, a journey through cloying night heat between thickets of potentially enemy-concealing foliage feels like danger. For the American soldiers who criss-cross the lanes and main roads around Tikrit it is something like fun.
"Do I enjoy it? Oh yeah," said Sgt-Major Hammond Ragin as he peered into the darkness with his night-vision goggles. "You join up for stuff like this and finally you get a chance to do it."
Sgt Ragin, 26, is with five of his men patrolling in two Humvees. Out there in the silence are the people they are hunting: the diehard fedayeen who almost five months after the end of the war are still harassing coalition forces. Perhaps, in one of the mudbrick peasant huts or villas that line their route, they will stumble on Saddam Hussein himself, who was born here and can still count on a degree of local loyalty.
Tonight, unlike the previous night when another patrol was engaged in an exchange of fire, nothing much happens. Down the road there is a half-hearted mortar attack, and that's about it.
The soldiers of the 1st Brigade, Fourth Infantry Division seem mildly disappointed as they head back to base. There may be some demoralised troops among the 139,000 American soldiers in the Iraq theatre but none of them seems to live at the presidential palace which is the brigade's headquarters.
Its commander, Col James Hickey, 42, bristles with an energy and determination that appears to be shared by his 3,300 men. "This brigade is on an offensive footing," he said. "If there's any air in the enemy's lungs, we're going to punch it out."
The gung-ho attitude is at odds with the notion that has been taking hold outside Iraq of a force that is losing ground to a dogged and wily foe and needs help. The people they are fighting, the colonel makes clear, are not the Viet Cong.
"This is the disorganised rearguard of the Ba'athist regime. The enemy has no military competence at a tactical level and suffers from poor marksmanship, relatively poor use of the terrain and an unwillingness to accept risk when attacking us."
That means long-range assaults with Kalashnikovs and rocket propelled grenades - what the colonel calls "miss and run attacks" - by groups of two and three, and improvised bombs planted at the side of the road. The perpetrators are young men, paid by middle ranking members of Saddam's entourage who cling to the belief that one day he will be back and their loyalty will be rewarded.
So far they have killed three of the brigade's soldiers and wounded 60, 15 of them seriously. "That kind of stuff happens and we all know that." said the colonel. "I find it interesting and challenging and I have no doubt we will prevail. We're presenting these guys with a clear choice. They can comply or I'm going to kill them or capture them. I own the streets of Tikrit . . . we go where we want to go, day or night."
Exerting control means a system of raids, improvised checkpoints to search vehicles, and constant patrolling. Since June they have captured almost 1,000 Saddam loyalists including Abd Hamoud, number four on the American wanted list, and killed at least 22.
They have seized almost 800 rocket launchers, more than 1,000 rifles and small arms in addition to $9 million and 1,121 gold bars.
Lately there has been a significant increase in the amount of intelligence being provided by inhabitants and the local police who are increasingly being involved in operations. "We're getting a huge amount of help," said the colonel. "There's a realisation that the old regime has been destroyed, that it's not coming back and that we're staying here until the job is done."
Col Hickey is not looking for help from anyone, though, and certainly not for more soldiers. "I have all the combat troops I need," he said. "We're just finishing up the rearguard here. It's only a matter of time."
"That kind of stuff happens and we all know that." said the colonel. "I find it interesting and challenging and I have no doubt we will prevail. We're presenting these guys with a clear choice. They can comply or I'm going to kill them or capture them. I own the streets of Tikrit . . . we go where we want to go, day or night."
Enough to make Patton puff out his chest and smile.
I know I am!
:-)
Positive article bump.
Sgt Ragin, 26, . . .
You should be jealous. Promotions must be coming quick for the grunts.
Spot on friend. This is not LBJ's military, this is GWB's military. (That is not meant to be a slap to those who fought and would have won VietNam if not for el B J and the other prostitutes.) Our warriors prevail when properly lead.
I saw the same report. That unit was attached to the 101st, no?
This kind of thing is what I was hoping for: get out of the vehicles and start hunting on foot. It seems like the majors, colonels, and senior NCO's have their sh*t together when it comes to tactical questions.
I am betting that we are actually bagging Al Qaeda but aren't releasing names, if only to bag others. I also believe that the "miss and run" crowd is being pursued only to the extent that they lead to bigger fish. All others are being shot at to set an example.
The heavy units were unwilling to learn from the light infantry and the Marines. Those units are having extraordinary success at pacification. However, I do notice that attacks against convoys have been reduced. It looks as if the Army heavies have decided not to run at the first RPG shot. In short, something we are doing is profoundly different from the once a day killings we were suffering in June and July.
Be Seeing You,
Chris
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