73rd Cavalry Regiment Troops Check Vehicles In Gahzni

Photo By Sgt. Matthew Clifton | An intelligence Soldier working with Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 4th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, helps a local get his car started in the Andar District of Ghazni province, Afghanistan, June 4.  

ANDAR DISTRICT, AFGHANISTAN

06.06.2007

Story by Sgt. Matthew Clifton 

22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment   

ANDAR DISTRICT, Afghanistan – "Wadariga, wadiraga," (Stop, stop) the Soldier shouts with his arm raised in the air, hand balled in a fist.

The four-door, white compact station wagon rolls to a stop over the broken rocks and dirt as the Soldier walks cautiously towards the driver-side door.

The Soldier, Pfc. Joseph Moody, speaking through his translator, tells the driver and passenger of the vehicle to step out of the car, briefly looking over his shoulder to reaffirm the presence of his covering security, hoping he won't need it.

After a brief round of questioning and a short search of the vehicle, all appears to be okay and Moody, once again talking through his translator, wishes the men a good day and watches as they disappear into the distance.

No sooner does the white station wagon dissolve into the horizon than a pair of jingle trucks, (large, commercial trucks colorfully painted and laced with bells that make a 'jingle' sound when they pass), emerge from the winding mountain road.

Once again Moody shouts, approaches and questions the occupants, never second-guessing the necessity of his job. This is the role of Moody and his fellow Soldiers in Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 4th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment in Operation Mai Wand.

Combined Operation Mai Wand is a mission between Afghan and coalition forces aimed at eliminating the enemy in areas of Ghazni province in order to allow the provincial government to continue to grow in the region.

With the 203rd Corps, Afghan national army conducting the main effort of this operation, it is up to units like the 4-73 Cav. to support the corps by restricting enemy movement through the Jarkana Mountains.

A long and drawn out military explanation, but to Moody and his fellow Soldiers, Mai Wand translates into another in a long line of routine traffic control points and vehicle inspections the Soldiers have become accustomed to since their deployment began.

"Our job is to interdict the enemy from passing through the mountains so they can't maneuver away from the 203rd Corps while the area is being cleared," said Lt. Col. David Woods, commander, 4-73rd Cav., 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. "We have pushed through the areas we believed were hot with the hopes of trapping the enemy in the area the Corps is clearing."

"Basically, we stop all the traffic that comes out of the mountain pass and ask the drivers questions," Moody said.

Sitting atop a large hill overlooking the pass, Moody and others in his troop take turns throughout the day pulling guard in the turrets of their Humvees, maintaining their weapons and personal hygiene and working the traffic control points.

"When we stop the people traveling we ask them where they are traveling and get some basic information from them," Moody said. "We ask their names, where they are coming from and where they are going."

The danger of their job is not lost in the friendliness they share with the majority of the people they stop, said Pfc. Bryan Salge, combat medic, HHT, 4-73rd Cav.

"We know what could potentially happen every time a vehicle approaches our checkpoint," Salge said. "We just drive-on and do what we are here to do."

Being Soldiers in today's Army, both Salge and Moody know they must put their own lives into potential danger for the greater good of America, Afghanistan or any country striving for freedom from oppresion.

"It feels good doing what we do. Sure it could be dangerous, but it's worth it to know we are helping people who need our help," Salge said. "These people have been oppressed for so long, all they want is peace and security."

In fact, despite the underlying potential for danger, the TCP's offer an excellent chance for the Soldiers of HHT to build a rapport with the locals and possibly generate intelligence.

Salge, for example, routinely gives medical aid to any ailing civilian who stops at the checkpoint.

"Earlier, I treated two kids who fell off of a motorcycle," Salge said. "Their father just came up to me and told my interpreter about the accident, so I grabbed my medic's bag and patched them up.

"Most of the time the people are more than willing to cooperate with us, and its not hard to understand why. When you think about it, asking them where they are going, searching their vehicles and giving them medical attention is pretty considerate compared to what the Taliban have done to them."

A never-relenting spirit is a vital commodity for Soldiers like Salge and Moody. Without it nothing could ever get done, but with it countries can be born again, one vehicle checkpoint at a time.

• Date Taken: 06.06.2007
• Date Posted: 07.05.2007 10:19
• Story ID: 11134
• Location: ANDAR DISTRICT, AF