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    Task Force Rogue Scouts patrol Mansour daily, stand ready to react to any situation

    By Sgt. James P. Hunter
    2nd Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office, 101st Airborne Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad

    BAGHDAD – There is no 'normalcy' to the daily lives of Soldiers operating throughout Iraq. Granted, coalition forces have been patrolling Iraq for nearly five years now, but each step and each breath taken is a journey; a journey unknown to some and one familiar to many. It's a journey down a path of change.

    The daily lives of the Soldiers of Scout Platoon, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, are no different. Everyday seems to be different; a journey down a path less taken.

    "We have a very diverse mission set," said 1st Lt. Tyler Rund, the Scout platoon leader. "We execute all of the battalions targeting, arresting all high level terrorists throughout the battalion's [area of operations]."

    They also execute patrols daily, Rund continued, interacting with the local population and gaining a good grasp on the neighborhood they are working within.

    "In doing so, we have a working knowledge of the entire battalion's [area of operation], and are familiar with the atmospherics of every aspect," he said.

    The Scouts also constitute the battalion's reserve force, on stand-by 24-hours a day to respond to any significant event, particularly, if there is a known terrorist moving through their area, Rund said.

    "The best part of the job is taking criminals off of the street," he said. "Everyone we go after, and subsequently arrest, has attacked coalition forces, and are truly terrorists. Taking them off of the street makes the area safer for both the people that live there and my friends and fellow Soldiers that patrol the streets on a daily basis."

    During a raid Jan. 29, the Scout troops apprehended an al-Qaida in Iraq leader in east Mansour who was suspected of targeting and attacking coalition and Iraqi security forces south of Baghdad in the Iskandariyah and Haswah area. This suspected insurgent was Multi-National Division – Center's number one sought after terrorist.

    "We know as a platoon we have made it safer for every Soldier that leaves the wire," said Spc. John Koritko, a Valparaiso, Ind., native, who serves as the Scout platoon medic. "The guys we grab are wanted for a lot of different crimes that resulted in attacks on coalition forces."

    Arresting criminals is what the Scout platoon loves to do, said Koritko. "You feel like you've accomplished something tangible."

    For Rund, conducting this sort of task is specifically why he joined the Army.

    "For me I couldn't ask for a better job during this deployment," he said. "I feel a great sense of accomplishment leading this platoon. I know Iraq from a standpoint of knowing the people that live here and their day-to-day life, and I know the enemy, arresting more than 40 so far."

    Rund's Scout platoon has accomplished everything put in front of them, he said. "I will go home knowing that I truly made a difference."

    In the meantime, it's about keeping each other safe, away from the dangers that lurk around on the streets of Baghdad.

    "As a medic, driver and dismount, I always prepare for the worst: actions on contact, how to treat a Soldier if he's hit, and make them feel like they're in good hands," said Koritko. "I've put all my Soldier and medic skills to test here. My guys should feel safe with me as a medic and a shooter... I never feel like someone doesn't have my back."

    For the platoon leader, it's no different. These men are his responsibility.

    Given the fact these criminals they are chasing have attacked coalition forces, "my focus is to not only catch him, but keep my dudes safe in the process," Rund said. "There have been several occasions where we have taken shots or rolled up on armed personnel in the area we are targeting the terrorist."

    A lot of things come into play when targeting these individuals, "[with] coordinating the vehicle support with the dismounts and identifying the individual in question," Rund said. "It is a tricky process sometimes taking what limited info we have on some and using it to move in on a target."

    On one particular occasion while conducting a patrol, they stumbled onto the steps of the home of a known terrorist; however, he was not home.

    "We spent some time talking to his family and neighbors getting our [intelligence] straight for a later raid," he said.

    They were planning for a later raid in the week; however, they decided to raid the home later that night.

    "We snuck into his yard and approached his home without being spotted by either the neighbors or the occupant of the home itself," Rund said. "Upon search, we found that the target had not returned..."

    The dismounted element secured the home, patiently waiting for the man to return. At daybreak, his neighbors came to check in on him. They made them sit and wait as well. Then, just a couple hours later, they made the neighbor call the criminal to inform him his child was sick.

    "Around an hour later the [terrorist] came home and walked straight into the arms of eight scouts," Rund said. Just another successful mission for the Scouts.

    They will continue to patrol Mansour daily, and react to any given situation when called upon as they continue to take that journey down the path less taken.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 02.24.2008
    Date Posted: 02.24.2008 12:26
    Story ID: 16651
    Location: BAGHDAD, IQ

    Web Views: 456
    Downloads: 444

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