Ops for a secure election day

Courtesy Photo | A Bradley Fighting Vehicle guards a street in Ramadi, Iraq. Soldiers from Animal Co., 3rd Bn., 103 Armor Regt., Pennsylvania National Guard, were attacked twice at this spot this fall but repelled both organized insurgent attacks, taking no casualties. The security provided by Pa. Nat'l Guardsmen, as part of Task Force 2-69 Armor, allowed the citizens of Ramadi to exercise their right to vote on Dec. 15.  

IRAQ

12.29.2005

Courtesy Story

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Staff Sgt. Julie Nicolov, Multi-National Corps " Iraq Public Affairs Office

The Soldiers of Task Force 2-69 Armor have spent the last six months raiding insurgent safe houses, patrolling streets and discovering weapons caches in preparation for Iraq's first permanent parliament election.

Ramadi, the capital of the Al Anbar Province and one of the most dangerous cities in the country, has been painted as an insurgency stronghold.

Voter turnout was very low in Ramadi on Oct. 15. The task force, comprised of Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, Pennsylvania Army National Guardsmen from Animal Company, 3rd Battalion, 103 Armor Regiment, a platoon of Soldiers from 876th Engineer Battalion and other elements, are doing their part to raise that number.

To Lt. Col. Robert Roggeman, commander, 2 Bn., 69th Armor Regt., a successful election in Ramadi will work wonders to creating a peaceful city.

"The number one criteria to getting rid of the insurgency is the legitimacy of the local government," Roggeman said.

The battles that his task force and Iraqi Soldiers have fought, paved the way for a peaceful election day.

Roggeman's tankers and infantrymen rolled into Ramadi in July after spending six months in the relatively quiet Diyalah where they helped the citizens make the best of their local government.

"We put the local government in charge. They had a mayor who ran the council and we put all the projects through them. It was really democracy at the grassroots level," Roggeman said. "Every citizen up there was touched by democracy somehow."

But Ramadi, which is the lower left corner of the Sunni Triangle, hadn't experienced that kind of democracy. A low turnout of voters in January and October meant that no one knew what their local government could do for them.

"The average person in Ramadi is saying, "what has democracy done for me? I have no one I can bring my troubles to,"" Roggeman said. "We've got to get the government line of operations running."

However, before the citizens of Ramadi can get out and vote, they need to know that it is safe for them to leave their houses.

"Particularly with the Ramadi area, there's a lot of fighting. In one day, we killed 70 guys. That tells you how many people were attacking so you have a point of reference for how bad that fight was," said Maj. Earl Higgins, operations officer, 2 Bn., 69 Armor Regt.

The insurgents increased their fire power over the summer and through the Ramadan season, culminating during a two-prong attack on an entry control point manned by task force Soldiers in the Sufia district.

On Sept. 15, approximately 150 insurgents attacked one of the battalion's entry control points. The Soldiers pushed them back with fire power from their individual weapons and Bradley Fighting Vehicles.

Two weeks later, on Oct. 3, the insurgents attacked the ECP again. In that fire fight, two Americans were slightly wounded, while Roggeman estimates that the enemy lost 70.

"I think the numbers show the insurgents better not mess with the tanks and the Bradleys," Roggeman said.

Fire power, according to Roggeman, is not the insurgency's strong point.

"Militarily, these terrorists aren't that good," Roggeman said. "The enemy's center of gravity is the American people and the American will to fight."

The city has been relatively quiet since Oct. 3.

In late October, the battalion moved the troops who had manned the entry control point to a dangerous stretch of Route Michigan. Since then, improvised explosive device attacks on that route have decreased by half.

"The guys are doing great things," Higgins said.

The Soldiers of 2nd Bn., 69 Armor Regt. are preparing to return to the states at the end of December. Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division's 1st Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment will replace them.

Eventually, the responsibility of keeping Iraq secure will fall on the shoulders of the Iraqi Army.

During every operation conducted by American troops, there is an Iraqi Army element by their side.

"I've been partnered with three different Iraqi Army battalions and all three have been very good," Roggeman said.

The work done by the task force as well as their mere presence in the city has helped that process.

"I think the people know that the American people are here and are contributing to increased security in their area," Higgins said. "When they see the vehicles drive through everyday, they see you get blown up but still coming back. When we pulled 30 IEDs back during Operation Rams, there were 30 less bombs to go off."

As a result of all that work, the citizens of Ramadi have the opportunity to improve the future of their city.

"The Ramadi people have a chance to join the democratic process, lay down their arms and pursue peace and prosperity," Roggeman said of the elections.

A strong local government may mean a dissolved insurgency as well.

"The elections are a watershed event in that if the Sunni people feel represented at the national level, this will go a long way to keeping the insurgency down," Roggeman said.

Iraqi elections

• Date Taken: 12.29.2005
• Date Posted: 12.29.2005 11:08
• Story ID: 4220
• Location: IQ