3rd ACR readies for round two

03.24.2005

Courtesy Story

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Story and photo by Spc. Brian Trapp

A little more than a year ago, Capt. Nile Cassett was hit by a truck. The encounter left him with a collapsed lung, a broken collar bone and some broken ribs. He went home for a few months to recover, then came back to pick up where he left off.

That was Cassett's first tour in Iraq. He's hoping things go better in his second Iraq tour.

Cassett's unit, the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, took its knocks in Operation Iraqi Freedom 1, but it recovered. Now, after about a year away, it's on its way back to the fight for a free and stable Iraq.

Before heading north, the 3rd ACR is in Kuwait for some additional training. They are going through something all troops deploying to Iraq have to go through, but the 3rd ACR Soldiers are coming back with an added edge: experience.

The unit retained more than 60 percent of the troops from its last deployment. More than 250 Soldiers even reenlisted to stay with the unit, which was slated to deploy again to OIF.

The experiences of combat are still fresh in the minds of 3rd ACR's troops, some of whom were home for less than a year. The effect of the experience on the unit can by clearly seen, said Cassett, who's now an operations officer with the ACR's 3rd Squadron.

The last time the 3rd ACR was in theater, they swiftly moved into the fight in western Iraq. This rotation, the 3rd ACR had more lead time and an opportunity to hold their focus on training for their upcoming mission in southern Baghdad.

"The first time we came, it was a lot quicker," said Staff Sgt. Thomas Ericksen, who is with the Regimental Headquarters and Headquarters Troop. "This time there was a lot more prep time.

We were able to focus on new scenarios and things we learned in theater the first time. The new Soldiers being integrated into the platoons and troops were able to come up to speed faster."

When the 3rd ACR started to train up for this deployment, a lot of the lessons learned by the veterans of OIF 1 were still fresh, Ericksen said. That experience came into play during exercises that prepared the regiment for this deployment.

The 3rd ACR Soldiers have been walking patrols down village streets for months, making use of a mock village at Fort Carson, Colo. They've been kicking in doors and dealing with captives, and every Soldier has sat through basic Arabic classes.

They also had classes on the Islamic culture to familiarize themselves with local customs.

This training helped hone 3rd ACR's skills to deal with the Iraqis, an experience many retained from their last tour. It just takes a little time to gain the confidence of a village "if you do what's right and respect the people who live there," Cassett said. "It doesn't take long for them to respect the unit as well,"

Even though the unit is familiar with Iraq, as always in the battlefield, things change. One of the new challenges the 3rd ACR has to face is the changing tactics of the insurgency.

The technology used in improvised explosive devices used today is leaps ahead of the primitive IEDs of OIF 1.

"I think we'll be able to identify them sooner than say a unit here for the first time," said Ericksen, who identified and called in IEDs during the ACR's first deployment.

Many things may have changed in the year since they left Iraq, but many things will always be the same.

"I think the level of awareness and guard that a soldier has to be on as long as we're here in theater will always be the same," Ericksen said. "There's always a threat whether you're here in Kuwait or up in Iraq ... you always have to be checking around and keeping your eyes and ears open."

Dealing with threats isn't new to the 3rd ACR, which was assigned to the Al Anbar Province, one of the largest areas of responsibility assinged a single unit during OIF 1. The province covers about one third of Iraq and includes the Sunni Triangle.

The 3rd ACR was "involved in a good chunk of fire fights," during its first OIF deployment, which ended a year ago.

All of the noncommissioned officers in Ericksen's troop are from line units, like scout and tank platoons, which took the brunt of the battles last time, he said. "We have that knowledge, and we're sharing it with the Soldiers so that they're prepared just as much as we are."

With the eyes of the unit looking north, they prepare for the move to Iraq. Recent memories of Iraq will be rekindled while new Soldiers will rely on the knowledge of those who have been there before.

"We expect our mission to be demanding and involve risk and sacrifice," said Sgt. 1st Class Donald Sparks, public affairs NCO in charge for 3rd ACR. "We will accomplish our mission to train security forces and defeat the insurgency. We are committed to accomplishing our mission ... providing a safe environment for the Iraqi citizens."

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• Date Taken: 03.24.2005
• Date Posted: 03.24.2005 14:16
• Story ID: 1415