Photo By Staff Sgt. James Hutto | Staff Sgt. Jacob Vaughn, from New Port Richey, Fla., a squad leader in Company B, 1st...... read more read more
Story by Spc. Ben Hutto, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs Office
FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – Soldiers conducted a nighttime air assault mission in Kanasa, a small village south of Salmon Pak, Feb. 28.
The Soldiers, assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, cleared six houses and detained two individuals for questioning.
"The main purpose of this mission was to capture or kill any enemy combatants we came across and continue to secure the area around (Combat Outpost) Carver," said 1st Lt. Ivan Eno, the platoon leader for second squad, Company B. "Overall, I think it went well. All of our guys, right down to the lowest level, understood our intent and scheme and executed it accordingly."
Before the mission, the Soldiers went through a detailed rehearsal, asking any questions they had to ensure there was no confusion.
"This is the fourth one (air assault mission) we've done, so everyone is comfortable with it," Eno said. "For us, it's just another raid with a different means of infiltration."
Eno explained that the area south of Salman Pak had been an extremist safe haven because it was sparsely populated and offered enemy fighters many places to hide and seek refuge.
"There are a lot of abandoned houses and farms down there for extremists to take refuge in," he said. "The area is mainly marshy farmland and there haven't been any Sons of Iraq or coalition forces down there."
Before the mission, Lt. Col. Jack Marr, from Minneapolis, commander of 1-15th Inf. Regt., spoke to his troops and reminded them to look out for one another and be aware of their surroundings.
"We all need to treat this like it is our first air assault," he said. "If you aren't sure about something, slow down and get sure. The last time we were on one of these missions near this area, we started taking indirect (fire) as we were getting on the birds to leave. There are bad guys out there and we need to think through what they might try to do to us."
Marr reminded his Soldiers to be respectful when they entered homes.
"Be firm, but fair," he said. "Conduct your searches, but do not screw up the good will we have been building there by tearing up someone's house or by being disrespectful to them."
The 1-15th Inf. Regt. is assigned to the 3rd HBCT, 3rd Infantry Division, from Fort Benning, Ga., and has been deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since March.
| Date Taken: | 02.28.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 03.01.2008 14:52 |
| Story ID: | 16886 |
| Location: | FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, IQ |
| Web Views: | 215 |
| Downloads: | 186 |
This work, 1-15 Inf. Regt. conducts air assault in Kanasa, by SSG James Hutto, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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