Photo By Ensign Margaret Taylor | U.S. Soldiers assigned to Bravo Troop, 4th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Armored...... read more read more
Subscribe
NANGARHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – To warm up for their first patrol outside the wire at Forward Operating Base Fenty, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, Aug. 22, Troop B, 4th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division soldiers practiced bounding.
Bounding is a way of moving across open terrain, where enemy contact is anticipated. Multiple teams alternate movement with each other: one keeps eyes on the enemy and provides covering fire, as necessary, while the other team moves forward. This continues until the teams reach their objective.
Once the team leaders were satisfied with the bounding rehearsals, the 4th Squadron soldiers set out on a presence patrol around FOB Fenty.
The purpose of the early morning patrol, which started just after dawn, was to check the security of Fenty’s perimeter, as well as engage the local population.
“We needed to get out there and establish ourselves outside the wire from a perspective of security, looking back in on ourselves,” said U.S. Army 1st Lt. Arrio Granum, platoon leader, of Hillsboro, Ore. “A defensive position is never complete, because you’re always trying to make it better.”
The patrol wound part way around Fenty, the soldiers trekking through dense undergrowth, across irrigated farmland and along dirt pathways on the outskirts of Jalalabad. As they went, the lead team used handheld minesweepers to search for improvised explosive devices buried in the footpaths, while the other teams provided security.
“My team did great running the counter-IED equipment,” said U.S. Army Sgt. Nikko Coronado, team leader, of Wylie, Texas. “It worked well for us.”
The patrol was not without its difficulties, though.
“The challenges Troop B faced involved the terrain and engaging the local population,” said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. David Nimrod, section sergeant, of Kansas City, Mo. The route the unit took was unfamiliar and often overgrown, and navigating it without interfering with the locals conducting their day-to-day activities required patience and skill.
The local Afghans typically carried on with whatever they were doing. Whether it was working in their fields or traveling down the same footpaths as the soldiers, the villagers have long been accustomed to a U.S. presence in the area.
Even so, whenever children caught sight of the Americans they ran toward them, laughing and calling for the soldiers to give them something. A few obliged and gave away pens and candy.
The patrol was largely uneventful: no IEDs were discovered, the enemy did not engage and no bounding was necessary.
Uneventful though it was, Troop B’s leadership agreed the presence patrol accomplished its mission.
“If we get too static and too complacent, then the enemy is going to be able to react to that,” Granum said. “We want to throw the enemy off, make sure we always have the upper hand.”
| Date Taken: | 08.28.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 08.28.2013 07:26 |
| Story ID: | 112724 |
| Location: | JALALABAD, AF |
| Hometown: | HILLSBORO, OR, US |
| Hometown: | KANSAS CITY, MO, US |
| Hometown: | WYLIE, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 458 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 1st Cavalry conduct presence patrol around FOB Fenty, by ENS Margaret Taylor, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT