Photo By Sgt. Maj. Nathan Hoskins | An AH-64D Apache attack helicopter from the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry...... read more read more
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CAMP TAJI, Iraq – In order to exert effective battle command during the surge, two divisions control the fight near Baghdad: Multi-National Division – Baghdad, led by the 1st Cavalry Division and Multi-National Division – Center, led by the 3rd Infantry Division.
But, this doesn't mean there are two aviation brigades covering these two expansive areas of operations.
Since the establishment of MND-C, the 1st Air Cavalry "Warrior" Brigade, 1st Cav. Div., has been supporting both MNDs to protect forces in and around the Iraqi capital and enable both divisions' operations, said Lt. Col. Timothy DeVito, commander of 4th "Guns" Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, and acting brigade commander for the 1st ACB.
"We're currently integrating the 3rd ID's combat aviation brigade into MND-C's area of operations, and when that is complete, we will focus our support to (mainly) MND-B," said DeVito an Orlando, Fla., native.
Punctuating their efforts, both attack battalions of the Warrior Brigade conducted near simultaneous engagements, stopping potential indirect fire and improvised explosive device attacks. But while one engagement was in MND-B, the other was in MND-C, the Guns commander said.
On the night of June 2, the 4th "Guns" Battalion thwarted a group of enemy forces who were emplacing improvised explosive devices in MND-C's area of operations, said 1st Lt. Jennifer Owen, the assistant intelligence officer for 4-227th.
While conducting route reconnaissance, a team of two Apaches noticed suspicious activity in a road, said the Whitefish, Mont., native. Suspects were later observed digging a short distance up the road from a fire started in the middle of the road. An Apache team from 4-227th was called in to engage them, said Owen.
Upon returning to the area, the Big Gun team got clearance from the ground troops to fire on the burning road and any insurgents nearby, she said.
"They shot into the fire on the road and observed secondary explosions – indicating that there were either IEDs emplaced within range of that or they had it set aside so that once they (dug the hole) they could set it in," Owen said.
Both aircraft in the team then engaged the insurgents fleeing from the site. The enemy operation was defeated. Because of the 4-227th Guns, there were no losses to Coalition Forces, because the IEDs were not successfully emplaced.
Around the same time that 4-227th was engaging enemy forces emplacing IEDs, a team of Apaches from the 1st "Attack" Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, were called off an ongoing mission to respond to terrorists setting up rockets in a soccer field near Sadr City – MND-B's area of operation, said Las Vegas native Lt. Col. Christopher Walach, commander of "First Attack" and one of the Apache pilots flying the engagement.
The ground force, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, found the terrorists setting up the rockets and called in attack aviation for support. Within minutes, Apaches were there assessing the situation, Walach said.
"This is probably the largest number of rockets I've seen set up, set to go off, since I've been here," he said.
Ten rockets were aimed at the International Zone with an unknown number of explosives still inside the terrorists' van parked nearby, Walach said.
The First Attack commander and his wingmen engaged the enemy forces, rockets and the vehicle, he said.
When the engagement began, some insurgents ran for shelter underneath the concrete bleachers of the stadium, said Tallahassee, Fla., native Chief Warrant Officer 4 Kevin Smith, the senior maintenance test pilot for 1-227th, and one of the crewmen during the engagement.
The crews engaged the enemy personnel. The ultimate outcome of their engagement was four insurgents killed and 10 rockets and one van destroyed, Walach said.
"We've spent hours and hours and hours looking for these guys," Smith said. "This time, we finally got them, so it's a good feeling."
"This mission was probably the most integrated, ... combined armed operation I've seen in the past nine months to take out anti-Iraqi forces trying to do harm to the Iraqi government or the Iraqi people," said Walach. WWe couldn't do what we do without being fully integrated with the ground combat teams."
Both of these planned terrorist attacks, the potential rocket attack on the International Zone and the potential IED attack on Coalition Forces, were defeated by the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade in two completely different areas of operation, DeVito said.
"(That night) is a fitting example of how the brigade is sustaining its operations with lethal simultaneity in both MND areas of operations," he said.
The willingness and determination of the Warriors is what keeps them running at such a hectic operation tempo, DeVito added.
"We are searching relentlessly to find our missing comrades and supporting this (troop) surge to defeat terrorists and anti-Iraqi forces while we, simultaneously, provide direct support to both MND (areas of operation) and integrate the 3rd CAB into our operations," said DeVito. "It's just part of our cavalry tradition and mindset. Out troopers know that our brothers on the ground are out there performing heroically across the area of operations and (1st ACB) is committed to doing anything and everything we can to protect these brave troopers and to enable their success as they operate."
| Date Taken: | 06.05.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 06.05.2007 08:49 |
| Story ID: | 10672 |
| Location: | TAJI, IQ |
| Web Views: | 585 |
| Downloads: | 533 |
This work, "Cover Two" Defense: Cavalry aviators thwart simultaneous attacks for two divisions, by SGM Nathan Hoskins, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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