Attack Company Moves into Baghdad

Courtesy Photo | Sgt. Kevin Carruth, a chemical operations specialist from Phoenix, Ariz., with Company A, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, plants the company flag outside the unit's combat outpost March 17. The 4th IBCT is one of the first brigade's to implement the president's new surge strategy.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

03.27.2007

Courtesy Story

4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs

By Pfc. Nathaniel Smith
4th BCT, 1st Inf. Div. Public Affairs

BAGHDAD – Company A, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, made its push into Baghdad March 16, along with the rest of the Black Lions and established it's own combat outpost in a southern section of the city.

Leading from the front is nothing new for the Black Lions as the unit led the Big Red One into Cantigny, France, during World War I, and Cpl. Jon Dorsey, the radio telephone operator for Company from Strong's Prairie, Wis., said his job is meaningful to him.

"We're going out, doing something," he said. "We're going to the (neighborhoods) and doing what we need to get the job done."

With no security incidents on the convoy to the outpost or in the first few days, the company was able to set up force protection measures, sleeping areas, and chow points, essentials for any combat operation.

The future looked bright for Attack Company in the early going as residents of nearby houses took to the streets calling Soldiers "sadiq", the Arabic word for friend, and offering information on potential threats.

The area around the facility is predominantly Sunni, meaning without sectarian differences, it is relatively peaceful compared to other areas.

The outpost, located in an abandoned sports club in northwestern Rashid District, is adjacent to Iraqi National Police stations on two sides.

When the unit showed up, there was no running water, no stable electricity, and pigeons were living inside the gymnasium.

The unit plans to upgrade the outpost to include internet connectivity, establishing consistent electricity, and hot showers, in addition to cleaning and maintaining the facility.

Cpl. Lee Taylor, a mortar section sergeant with Attack Co. from Laverne, Okla., said he wouldn't be anywhere but at his unit's outpost.

"It feels good to be here," he said. "It feels like we're doing something and helping somebody."

• Date Taken: 03.27.2007
• Date Posted: 03.27.2007 11:56
• Story ID: 9639
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ