Photo By Capt. Richard Ybarra | 1st Lt. Valton King of Columbia, S.C., platoon Leader for 3rd Platoon, Howitzer...... read more read more
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Story and Photos by 1st Lt. Richard Ybarra
MOSUL, Iraq – As the short column of Humvees works its way slowly down the narrow back streets of Mosul's Tamooz neighborhood, the unmistakable hiss of a rocket propelled grenade is followed closely by an explosion, interrupting the low rumble of the armored vehicles' engines.
A round of positive status reports indicate that no one has been hit. A series of bursts from a .50 caliber machine gun from the rear vehicle convinces the al-Qaida grenadier that a second round is probably not a wise course of action.
The radio crackles. It is Sgt. Pedro Santiago of Yauco, Puerto Rico. "There was a guy in a brown suit. He just walked across the street, went around the corner and came right back out and fired an RPG!"
This day's mission finds the Troopers from Howitzer Battery, 3rd Squadron, 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment searching for a known al-Qaida bomb-maker and improvised explosive device cell leader. Soldiers from Howitzer Battery are all field artillerymen by training. In practice however, the Redleg Soldiers act as traditional Cavalry Troopers, engaging the enemy from their uparmored Humvees or dismounted as the situation dictates.
"The Soldiers were excited about the change, they wanted to get their boots on the ground and seek and destroy the enemy," said 1st Lt. Valton King of Columbia, S.C., platoon leader for 3rd Platoon, H/3/3 ACR. "They trained for urban operations extensively, at Fort Hood, the National Training Center and several other facilities. Trained diligently."
This mission, on Jan. 7, to find a known bomb-maker forced 3rd platoon into the narrow alleyways of the sprawling city of 2.5 million, leaving them vulnerable to a variety of attacks.
After several hours of searching, the bomber is spotted leaving the market area of Tamooz with a companion. It is also reported that he may have guards nearby that will fight to keep the bomb-maker out of coalition hands.
The file of Humvees spots the bomber at a distance and closes with the targets rapidly.
King shouts to the gunner on his humvee, "Make sure their hands are up!"
King then orders the dismount team into action. "Dismount! Move! Take them down!"
Staff Sgt. Harry Halfalla of Daly City, Calif., is the first into action. He quickly closes with the target, changing his stride from sprint to a close-stepped shuffle as the distance narrows. He shouts at the al-Qaida operative while motioning with one hand, leveling his M4 with the other, "Get your hands up. Keep your hands up!"
The IED cell leader and a suspected accomplice are both captured without resisting. The bomber has the telltale signs of a terrorist who learned his trade the hard way; missing fingers and scarred remnants of other digits.
The bomber's guards may have been napping long enough to allow him to be captured but are not resigned to let him leave Tamooz with coalition forces. Perhaps aware of previously-captured AQI members who have been vital sources of information for the coalition, the bomb-maker's former guards make an attempt to disrupt the detention via rocket propelled grenades.
The initial rocket skips past a Humvee that provides flanking cover for the dismounted troopers and heads towards the center of the cordon. The RPG, enveloped in an orange streak of light, punctuates the end of its movement with a five-meter ball of fire, landing 100 meters short of its intended target; the Cavalry dismounts and their detained bomber.
The cannoneers place the detainees behind the Humvees for cover, opposite the direction of incoming fire and continue to search for weapons at a quickened pace but still in a deliberate manner. To load an AQI operative inside a vehicle without a thorough search for weapons, primarily explosives, is considered an unacceptable risk.
"We have encountered people who have had suicide vests or other weapons," said King.
"Just the possibility they may have them is more than enough reason to conduct a thorough search. We have to defuse that situation, to make sure they have no means to engage us while we have them detained."
As the last zip cuff is applied, another RPG moves through the cordon. It announces its arrival with the trademark hiss, which is interrupted almost as quickly as it started by a crashing explosion marking the end of the rocket's flight path. Missing the dismounts and detainees by less than five meters overhead, the rocket strikes the second-story of a structure 20 meters to the rear of the small group.
Fragments of concrete followed by a coating of dust fall upon friend and foe alike in the target area. It seems a redundant reminder that it is time to move the detainees to a more secure site, as if the flash, heat and noise from the explosion had not been a sufficient prompt.
The detainees are quickly loaded into the vehicles and moved to Forward Operating Base Marez without incident. The bomber was positively identified at the FOB and detained for questioning pending charges. His accomplice is still pending identification.
The Brave Rifles could not positively identify the source of the RPG fire and subsequently did not return fire during the engagement. If nothing, a tribute to the courage, discipline and cool steadfastness while under fire of all the Soldiers engaged, both mounted and dismounted. Additionally, their effort to safeguard the detainees speaks volume of their professionalism. None of the Soldiers or detained persons were injured during the attack.
"The Soldiers performed excellently. We had a little issue with the outer cordon at the beginning, but they adjusted under fire. They were scanning the rooftops, got more RPG fire, they couldn't identify the shooter and held their fire," said King. "Which is what we want. We don't indiscriminately shoot up a neighborhood. We are not al-Qaida. We want to keep a positive image of coalition forces. We are here to stabilize the city."
"The apprehension today was a great victory for the citizens of Mosul and should positively impact their security, as AQI's work is clearly intended to terrorize the populace." said Maj. Thomas Feltey, executive officer of 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. "The efforts of these Soldiers to safeguard the detainees while under fire from AQI was nothing short of heroic. "
As for the Redleg Cav. Troopers, their missions will continue.
"In Iraq, as an artilleryman, you know that you are not going to get the standard artillery mission," said King, smiling. "So we prepared for that when we got the call to serve as Cav. Troopers. It was an easy transition for us. These Soldiers are committed to doing whatever is required to make every mission a success."
| Date Taken: | 01.09.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 01.09.2008 09:31 |
| Story ID: | 15297 |
| Location: | MOSUL, IQ |
| Web Views: | 731 |
| Downloads: | 516 |
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