Stallion engineers lend hand to Iraqi Army counterparts in Al Awad

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Cupp | Sgt. Anthony Santos (center), a combat engineer for Sappers Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment and a native of Santa Rica, Guam, and Killeen, Texas, watches as an Iraqi Army engineer from 3rd Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Division (Mechanized) uses a backhoe to pull up reeds from a canal near Al Awad, Iraq, July 18. The canals were being cleaned of vegetation to keep them from being used as hiding places that be used to could launch attacks on Iraqi and coalition forces.  

IRAQ

07.24.2007

Story by Staff Sgt. Jon Cupp 

1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division

By Staff Sgt. Jon Cupp
1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs

AL AWAD, Iraq – Engineers from the Company E "Sappers," 2nd "Stallion" Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment are continuing a partnership here with their Iraqi Army counterparts from the 3rd Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army (IA) Division (Mechanized) to rob insurgents of the ability to wage attacks against civilians, Iraqi security forces (ISF) and coalition forces.

The partnership here was evident July 18 as they worked in a joint effort to re-shape terrain by clearing reeds and knocking down structures from which insurgents could hide and launch their attacks. Using Iraqi army backhoes, Iraqi troops pulled reeds out of drainage canals and also used the equipment to take down man-made structures in a field as the Sappers pulled security and observed the work being done in the event their Iraqi comrades needed help.

Both the IA engineers from 3rd Bde., 9th IA Div. (Mech.) and Sappers worked in support of the local civilian populace as well as Stallion troops who now operate from nearby patrol bases that have recently been established to keep the area secure.

Sapper Co. commander, Capt. John Burrescia, a Dickinson, Texas native, said he sees the significant role the IA engineers and his Soldiers play in assisting combat operations currently taking place in the village.

"We're brand new to this area and its all about dominance and the ability to respond quicker," said Burrescia. "We didn't have a presence here before and now we have hard tank assets and other capabilities and we're very focused on enemy activity. (For our role) we're opening fields of fire and making a lot of engineering improvements that help with force protection."

"We also know that buried IEDs are a very real threat and we're working to shutdown that threat," he added. "We're very effectively minimizing the enemy's ability to affect what we're doing here."

According to 1st Lt. Daaron Spears, a platoon leader for Sapper Company, the work Sapper Co. is doing with their Iraqi army counterparts will be very helpful in leading to their transition and he's seen a gradual change towards just that.

"When we first got here, we were doing a 100 percent of the work," said Spears, who hails from San Antonio, of how things were when the Sapper Co. first arrived in country about eight months ago. "Now as time has gone on, they are taking over, and they've been doing most of the work. They have been learning very quickly and providing us input which is something they weren't doing that much before."

"They are getting better everyday and it's their country and they are taking more responsibility and taking pride in the ownership of their country," added Spears.

Sgt. Anthony Santos, a team leader for Sapper Co. who hails from Santa Rita, Guam, and Killeen, Texas, said he enjoys working with the IA engineers.

"They're using their own personnel to do the work and their own equipment, we're just here to observe as well as pull security to help them as they work," said Santos. "They're really good engineers and we help each other, and we only step in if they need our help."

"When they got here today, we didn't have to tell them what the job was, what to do or how to do it," added Santos, noting that the IA engineers are no longer relying as much on Sapper support but are becoming more self-reliant. "They just came out here and started working."

Santos said he hopes his Soldiers have learned some valuable life lessons and experiences from working with the Iraqi engineers.

"We're from two different armies," said Santos. "They can't expect the Iraqi army to operate the same way that the U.S. Army does. They have to realize that the U.S. way of doing things isn't always the best way, and to open themselves to other ways of doing things. I hope they understand the need to be respectful of cultural differences and be sensitive to other people's ways of operating."

Burrescia praised the Sapper partnership with the IA engineering platoon.

"They're the reason why we've been successful here," said Burrescia. "Their company commander has been very helpful. They have a lot of equipment that we don't have. If we need bucket loaders, they'll be proactive and let us take what we need to get the job done. Whenever they need our help, we're glad to help them as well. It's been a partnership built on mutual respect."

Just over the past week and joined by Soldiers from the 20th Engineer Battalion, Sapper Company and the IA engineers assisted in the discovery and disposal of three improvised explosive devices in the area. They also partnered recently to emplace a bridge for an assault mission.

• Date Taken: 07.24.2007
• Date Posted: 07.24.2007 13:29
• Story ID: 11453
• Location: IQ