MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune
MOSUL, Iraq - The Stryker brigade's headquarters staff was ready to roll out its best red carpet Monday for Gen. John Abizaid, the four-star in charge of the U.S. Central Command.
They spiffed up the tactical operations center, located in an elegant side building on the Mosul palace grounds, and prepared a thorough briefing on their work so far to take over for the 101st Airborne Division.
As it turned out, Abizaid spent most of his four-hour visit with the 101st and never made it over to the brigade TOC.
But the brigade still got to take the general and many from his entourage on a quick Stryker convoy downtown.
Spc. Michael Marks, who drives brigade commander Col. Mike Rounds' Stryker, had Abizaid and 101st commander Maj. Gen. David Petraeus on his truck.
Marks said his passengers enjoyed the speedy run down the highway along the Tigris River, during which they reached speeds of 60 mph and more.
"They all want one now," he said.
The plan had been just to drive around the palace grounds, known as Forward Operating Base Freedom. But when Abizaid allowed as how he had a bit of time before he had to fly out, Rounds ordered up the off-campus dash.
Brigade officers said they would have liked the chance to tell their story to the U.S. military's senior commander for all operations in the Middle East.
But then visits from top generals are getting to be a routine. Earlier, at Camp Pacesetter, they heard a fiery address by Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq.
And just before they were deployed, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, and the Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Peter Schoomaker visited them at Fort Lewis.
The coalition bases in Mosul aren't attacked nearly as often as some of the places Stryker troops stayed in Central Iraq. But it still happens.
A rocket-propelled grenade hit near a guard tower about 6 a.m. Monday. It caused no damage or injuries.
Most soldiers were still asleep, but several said they were awakened by either the explosion or the sound of the rocket zipping over the living area.
"I heard it go overhead," Spc. Jody Raplee said.
Like ziiinnngggg?
"No, like WHOOOOSSSHHH!" he said.
Brigade officials said troops in the tower reported they saw two men with an RPG launcher on a bridge near the base just before the attack.
It wasn't clear why the soldiers in the tower didn't fire on them. Stryker troops have been trained to consider Iraqis with RPGs as hostile and are cleared to shoot them, if necessary.
The towers are usually manned by at least one soldier from the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps and one from the 101st Airborne. Stryker troops will soon replace those from the 101st as the brigade takes over for the division.
The brigade's mission in Iraq hasn't attracted quite the amount of news coverage that officials thought it might, but that may change soon.
National Public Radio, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters and the BBC are all lining up visits, said the brigade public affairs officer, Lt. Col. Joseph Piek. The New York Times is also planning a return trip - a reporter spent a couple days with the brigade back at Camp Pacesetter - as is a reporter-photographer team from the Army Times.
But it won't be a real media circus until Geraldo Rivera shows up. Piek said Rivera has inquired about coming through perhaps next month.
Staff writer Michael Gilbert is embedded with the Stryker brigade in Iraq. He was embedded with the 62nd Medical Brigade in Mosul last year. Reach him at mjgilbert41@yahoo.com.
(Published 12:01AM, January 20th, 2004)
Stryker driver Spc. Michael Marks, left, gets an attaboy from Gen. John Abizaid.