A year in Iraq with the scouts

Photo By Master Sgt. Ryan Matson | The 96th Aviation Support Battalion Scout Platoon shown here in Iraq.  

08.28.2006

Courtesy Story

101st Combat Aviation Brigade

A platoon of 19Ds, or Cavalry Scouts, may not be very common in an Aviation Brigade, but for the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, the scout platoon was an invaluable tool during the brigade's deployment to Iraq.

In May, 2005, a young lieutenant in the 96th Aviation Support Battalion had an idea of how to implement some of the Cavalry scout Soldiers throughout the brigade into the battalion's operations.

"It all started with a discussion before the brigade's transformation in which Sgt. Nate Manning told me that during OIF I, A Company had done a lot of convoy operations," 1st Lt. Shawn Whitmire, Company A, 96th Aviation Support Battalion, recalled. "He suggested that with the increase in Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) that it would greatly assist convoys to have a team/platoon designated as the security element."

The perfect Soldiers for the platoon were the scouts. The scouts were otherwise being used in a variety of roles throughout the brigade. Twenty scouts were gathered and reassigned to Company A, 96th Aviation Support Battalion as their own platoon. Staff Sgt. Scottie Jones was selected to be the platoon sergeant.

Thus the scout platoon was born. The platoon now is set to return home from Iraq after completing more than 300 combat missions, fulfilling Whitmire's original goal when forming the platoon more than a year ago.

"Once the original plan was set and we received the soldiers, it was just training and discipline from there," Whitmire said. "I was looking for focused NCOs and Soldiers to fit the team; in the end that is exactly how it panned out. Staff Sgt. Scottie Jones and I didn't just want crew serve gunners and drivers, but also individuals who could be a close knit team able to truly move shoot and communicate. From MOUT operations to mounted land navigation and just about everything in between, the Soldiers and NCOs performed flawlessly. I can't express to you how great of a feeling it was to have had the chance to serve with all those guys, it's why I joined the Army."

The scout platoon was used to conduct various convoy operations for the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade throughout their year in Iraq. The convoys took them throughout the division's entire area of operation throughout Northern Iraq. The scouts led a four-day convoy from Forward Operating Base McKenzie near Balad, Iraq, to Kirkuk, Iraq, which relocated the entire 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment.

On a daily basis, the scouts were used to provide a roving patrol around the perimeter of Contingency Operating Base Speicher, Iraq. The patrol was a means of protecting the base from attacks, seeking out and deterring suspicious behavior, and investigating and responding to attacks that did occur. They performed this mission twice a day for ten months of the deployment, unless another convoy operation took them elsewhere. During this time, the scouts located more than 20 weapons caches around COB Speicher, including numerous mortars, three landmines, and various pistols, swords and ordinances.

The scouts roving patrol was also successful in locating people plotting attacks against the COB and Coalition Forces, Jones said. On one instance, Sgt. Nate Manning and Staff Sgt. Brandon Byers noticed a person observing them from around a corner while on roving patrol. When they detained the person, he turned out to be positively identified as the Number Two High Value Target on the Coalition's list for the Area of Operations. Throughout the year, eight additional people tested positive for explosives during swipe tests conducted on them.

The second primary mission of the scout platoon was to provide convoy transportation and security for the brigade's Police Training Transitional Province Team. This was a mission in which leaders from throughout the brigade and the Army met with Iraqi Police leaders to work to strengthen the Iraqi Police force. The scouts transported leaders to almost every Iraqi Police station in Northern Iraq, including Balad, Palowado, Khalif, Tuz, Samarra, and Baji. They provided the convoys and security for daily PTTP meetings with the Iraqi Police in Tikrit, Iraq. They took a variety of leaders to the general's residence, the Tikrit Police Station, the jail, and several other locations daily.

Through all the missions on the road, Jones said he was happy to say the platoon had only been hit by Improvised Explosive Devices two days (although they hit three separate IEDs the same day) and that no one was hurt by the attacks. Now, after a long year on the road in Iraq, the 978th Military Police Company is preparing to overtake the scout's mission as they redeploy to Fort Campbell.

"We have outstanding cohesion," Jones said. "We ate, slept, worked and did everything together. All my guys did an outstanding job; I couldn't have asked for anything more."

• Date Taken: 08.28.2006
• Date Posted: 08.28.2006 11:03
• Story ID: 7552