Photo By Spc. Tobey White | U.S. Army Pfc. Christopher Schieb, a driver with A Company, 3rd Brigade Combat Team,...... read more read more
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KHOWST PROVINCE, Afghanistan – The soldiers of Company A, Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Task Force Duke, scanned a route to Combat Outpost Bak, Afghanistan, May 23, watching out for any possible evidence of an improvised explosive device in the road.
It is by no means an easy job. With limited route clearance companies assigned to the 3rd BCT, 1st Inf. Div., the soldiers are often out for days at a time, said U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Gregory Lehman, a platoon sergeant for Company A, STB, 3rd BCT, 1st Inf. Div., TF Duke, and a native of Troy, Pa.
On this mission the team was clearing a route to allow a company from TF Duke’s 1st Battalion, 26th Inf. Regiment, to deliver equipment to COP Bak, said Lehman.
Bumping around in a buffalo, a vehicle specifically built to find IEDs, for hours on end, U.S. Army Sgt. Edward Novak, a team chief with Company A, and a native of Nashville, N.C., has the team stop and check out every possible IED on the route.
“I’d rather have the IED blow up on us because we’re equipped and trained to deal with those types of situations whereas other units are not,” Novak said.
It is slow going, but necessary for to ensure freedom of movement for other Duke soldiers said U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Joshua Walls, the First Sergeant for Company A, and native of Goodrich, Mich.
Clearing the routes of possible IEDs allows soldiers in Khowst province to be able to move from place to place without having to worry as much, Walls said.
The soldiers of A Company are constantly busy, said Lehman, but he doesn’t mind the pace. The more time they spend outside the wire, the safer the landowners and the soldiers who travel the routes will be.
“We save lives by finding IEDs,” Lehman said.
The job can be tedious, Lehman said. Soldiers in the company spend hours observing the road for the slightest indicators of an IED.
It can be mentally draining and the soldiers are under constant tension and stress, said Walls.
“It’s boring, but they have to have mental discipline and stay vigilant,” Walls said.
In the first four months of their deployment, Company A discovered more than 40 significant IEDs and participated in more than 100 patrols, said Walls.
In addition to being on constant lookout for anything suspicious on the road, they also have to be aware of rough terrain that can damage their vehicles, Lehman said.
Their equipment needs constant maintenance and most of the soldier’s time when not out on a mission is spent repairing damage, said Lehman.
On his second deployment as a combat engineer doing route clearance missions, Novak said the patrols are more effective this time.
The unit has better equipment to detect the IEDs and they know the enemies habits much better this time around, he said.
“You have to get into the mindset of the enemy,” Novak said. “We know what to look for now.”
| Date Taken: | 05.23.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 05.25.2011 01:43 |
| Story ID: | 71016 |
| Location: | KHOWST PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 504 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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