Posted on 12/24/2003 6:57:16 AM PST by Cannoneer No. 4
MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune
NEAR DULUIYAH, Iraq - Troopers from the 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment are back to working a more traditional role after a week working the checkpoints outside Samarra, Iraq.
The squadron is the eyes and ears of the Fort Lewis-based Stryker brigade, typically conducting reconnaissance - finding the bad guys - and then directing the infantry to the attack.
Since a Sunday morning rocket attack on Camp Pacesetter, the base camp for the brigade, the squadron has been patrolling the wide-open areas around the base.
But out on the checkpoints they pretty much were stationary and got shot at from time to time - two things they don't much care for in the cavalry.
"I think we've been shot at more than any other unit in the brigade," said Maj. Joe Davidson, the squadron operations officer.
Lt. Michael Irvine, Staff Sgt. Sean Dack and Sgt. Michael Haley were among the troopers at the checkpoint north of Samarra when guerrillas fired four rocket-propelled grenades their way.
One landed wide right, three others wide left. One hit about 30 yards in front of them, close enough to make everybody a little nervous.
"It was kind of chaotic for a few seconds," Haley said.
"The worst part was the 45 seconds or so it took to get a head count" to make sure all were OK, Irvine added.
The soldiers used their long-range optics to spot the shooters on a rooftop about 500 yards away and replied with a couple of 40 mm grenade rounds, they said.
Another time, they spotted two men with RPG launchers moving on the street near the same location and fired on them first, they said.
'They were shooting at us, dude'
Most of the cavalry soldiers' interactions with the locals have been far more mundane.
At the checkpoint on the south end of town Saturday, a passing driver rolled down the window of his truck and shouted, "How are you? Salaam aleikum. I love you America."
The day before, Pvt. Joseph Bongiorno said a guy berated them for not coming to get Saddam 10 years sooner.
His buddies Pvt. Kyle Ellison and Spc. Joseph Story related their experience a few days earlier. Somebody shot at their Stryker while they were riding not far from the checkpoint, but fortunately the only casualty was Story's rucksack.
For some reason, Bongiorno was skeptical.
"Did you actually see anybody with a weapon?" Bongiorno asked Ellison.
"He did," Ellison said, pointing to Story.
"I've got a hole in my rucksack," Story said. "They were shooting at us, dude."
It's water in desert, but it's no oasis
It doesn't take much rain to turn the base camp into a muddy bog. In the 24 hours Monday through Tuesday evening, Camp Pacesetter had accumulated about one-tenth of an inch.
But just that little amount of water is enough to put 10 times that much mud on every soldier's boots. It's thick, sticky stuff - mostly clay that bakes dry in the sun and wind and then turns to instant sludge in the rain.
It's worst on the paved surfaces at Pacesetter, an old Iraqi military airfield. Blowing dirt that accumulates when it's dry turns into a slippery layer of glop.
And the worst part is that with late December's late sunrises and early sunsets, residents are constantly having to find their way through the mire in the dark.
Neighbors were glad to see house go
A postscript on Saturday's bulldozing in Samarra: The 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment sent in a giant armored bulldozer to level the home where insurgents set off a roadside bomb that destroyed a Stryker vehicle Dec. 13.
Battalion officials said all the neighbors gave troops the thumbs-up sign as the dozer made short work of the two-story brick house.
"People in the neighborhood came out and applauded. They said, 'Thank you,'" said Lt. Col. Buck James, the 1-23rd commander.
For good measure, he said, his troops filled the large crater that was left after the bomb destroyed the Stryker.
Michael Gilbert: mjgilbert41@yahoo.com
For regular reports on Fort Lewis' Stryker brigade, including the latest stories by News Tribune embedded reporter Michael Gilbert, sign up for your Stryker brigade e-mail newsletter by registering at www.tribnet. com/registration.
(Published 12:01AM, December 24th, 2003)
The answer to that question depends on who you ask.
The whole concept of the Interim Brigade Combat Team was to provide a medium force, lighter and more rapidly deployable than a heavy, Bradley/Abrams mechanized brigade but heavier and more mobile than a light infantry or airborne brigade. The Army leadership back in 1999 determined that armor and mechanized brigades would be increasingly less useful in the operational environment they foresaw; peacekeeping, Operations Other Than War (OOTW), and Stability and Support Operations (SASO).
It was armor and mechanized and amphibious mechanized brigades that took Baghdad, but the operations that have taken place since then have required tankers and artillerymen and combat engineers to get out on foot and kick down doors and be constabulary troopers and thier primary mount is now the M1114 armored Humvee.
So the answer to your question is:
yes
December 22, 2003: The U.S. Army's M-2 Bradley fighting vehicle has proved to be the workhorse of the Iraq campaign. But that came at a cost that was not anticipated. Like most armored vehicles, the Bradley runs on metal tracks that have rubber pads attached to save wear and tear on roads and give better traction. Naturally, the rubber pads, as well as the entire track, wears out. Normally, a heavily used Bradley might need a new set of tracks once a year. There are nearly 700 Bradley's in Iraq, and many are in need of new tracks every few months. A set of tracks is normally good for 1,300-1,600 kilometers of travel. To keep the Bradley's in Iraq supplied with replacement tracks, the army's only depot that refurbishes worn tracks (about 80 percent of the track is reused) has had to go from one shift a day, five days a week, to 24/7 production. Even at that, stocks world wide are being depleted. That's one reason for the rush to get more armored Humvees over to Iraq. These don't have tracks, and are nearly as resistant to Iraqi attacks as the Bradley's are. Actually, in many cases, the Bradley's are used in low risk situations because they are the only combat vehicle available. But unless Bradley use in Iraq can be reduced, the availability of the other 5,500 Bradleys in US service will be severely affected. With all the replacement tracks going to Iraq, there will be none for Bradley's anywhere else.
December 17, 2003: The American armed forces are rushing to convert active duty and reserve troops to military police. The navy is expanding it's Master at Arms (naval military police) force to over 10,000 sailors. This is to provide more security for warships in port. The Coast Guard has traditionally provided this, but is now being eased out of the job. The air force has been constantly expanding it's Security Force units. The air force security people are divided into "police" (who guard the air base gates and provide police services) and the Security troops, who are trained and equipped as light infantry, and provide tight security for things (warplanes and nuclear weapons, for example), that need it. The air force has more security troops than the army has infantry. Since September 11, 2001, the air force security troops have been getting heavier weapons and more electronic monitoring equipment. The army is retraining 2,000 reservist artillerymen, from seven disbanded artillery battalions, to form 18 Military Police guard companies. Through the 1990s, many officers noted that the many reserve artillery units were not needed now that the Cold War was over. The introduction of smart bombs, rockets and shells has reduced the need for artillery even more. So it was not unexpected when many reserve artillery units were ordered converted to military police. The artillery equipment was taken away, replaced with more light vehicles and police equipment. The troops underwent retraining. Even without all this retraining, since September 11, 2001, over a hundred thousand reserve troops were mobilized for security duties that they were not trained for. So while the armed forces have resisted creating special peacekeeping units, they have acquired a divisions worth (over 12,000 troops) of new military police since September 11, 2001.
December 19, 2003: American infantry are still carrying too much weight. It's a problem going back thousands of years, and few armies have been able to solve it. The U.S. Army had a team of researchers in Afghanistan to collect information on the situation and the numbers were not good. They found that the lightest load carried, the "fighting load" for situations where the troops were sneaking up on the enemy and might be involved in hand-to-hand combat, was 63 pounds. The "approach march load," for when infantry were moving up to a position where they would shed some weight to achieve their "fighting load", was 101 pounds. The heaviest load, 132 pounds, was the “emergency approach march load,” where troops had to move through terrain too difficult for vehicles. As in the past, the troops often ignored the rules and regulations and dumped gear so they could move, or keep moving. The researchers found that in Afghanistan, even though the infantry were in excellent physical shape, troops would sweat nearly 20 ounces of fluid an hour while marching at high altitudes in bright sunlight in moderate temperatures. That meant more weight, in water, had to be found to keep these guys going.
A lot of the weight carried is essential stuff. Weapons, for example. But the Army saved two pounds in the 1960s when they switched from the M-14 rifle to the M-16. A lot of weight was saved in ammo carried as well, because a hundred M-16 bullets weighed two pounds less than a hundred M-14 ones. Troops usually carry 200-300 rounds of rife ammo with them. Plastic canteens replaced metal ones and lighter sleeping bags showed up, as well as lighter clothing. Lighter food (pouches of MREs instead of cans of C Rations). But heavier stuff was added, like the 17 pound "Interceptor" bullet proof vest and the heavier Kevlar helmet. Special Forces troops often go into action without the helmet and Interceptor vest and keep the load under 40 pounds. But that's only in those situations where the Special Forces calculate that speed and achieving surprise are worth more than the protection the vests provide. Most troops do not have that option.
The solution may be one that the Romans adopted 2,000 years ago. When marching to a combat zone, Roman soldiers carried over a hundred pounds. Eventually, it was decided to give every squad of eight soldiers a mule to carry some of the load, and keep the troops fresh enough so they could do some strenuous fighting it they met enemy troops unexpectedly while on the march. A quiet, robotic, all terrain mechanical "mule" is what is being investigated. Fuel cells are about to enter service, and that is being looked at as a power source.
In the meantime, new rules for resupplying troops in combat, and what gear they can leave where when in a combat zone, are being studied. One good angle to this study is that they are actually talking to the troops about all this. As in the past, the infantry can come up with some very practical solutions to the problems the brass inflict on them. All you have to do is ask.
I think it was Jubal Early who said "the road to Glory cannot be followed with too much baggage."
5-20 IN sniper
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