Army Pfc. Matthew Clifton
MNC-I Public Affairs Office
07 May, 2005
OP
CAMP TAQQADUM, Iraq -- There are many necessary components the Army must apply to ensure proficient and successful force protection. Observation posts are one such component, and at Camp Taqqadum, they are controlled by a group of Soldiers from the Texas National Guard.
Camp Taqqadum is located approximately 74 kilometers west of Baghdad and serves as both a military base camp and an air strip used for the transporting of troops and supplies.
"We have responsibility for the entire perimeter's security," said Capt. Wesley Bryan, commander, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 112th Armored Regiment, 36th Infantry Division, Fort Worth, Texas.
"If these observation posts weren't here the effects would be devastating. They are our first line of defense."
The observation posts are essentially a string of points on the perimeter of the camp positioned in a way so guards can keep constant watch over every inch of the perimeter, said 1st Lt. Chester Harbert, support platoon leader, HHC, 2nd Bn., 112th Armored Reg..
"We run on a shift rotation with at least two people in each post to provide security and scan for any intelligence information they might be able to gather," Harbert said. "The jobs of the Soldiers are to use the materials they have to scan their area and call in any suspicious activity."
The observation posts are critical in the coordination between quick reactionary forces, external patrols and internal security of the camp, Bryan said.
The Soldiers in the observation posts also let the patrols outside the perimeter know what is going on. They have a better view of the surrounding area and can see anything that is happening that may interfere with the operations of the base or a patrol, Harbert said.
"On a daily basis, the Soldiers at the posts have to deal with issues like sheep herders getting too close to the fence line and local nationals trying to cross the wire.
Sometimes they deal with calling in indirect fire to the surrounding area," Harbert said. "They call in the fire so the counter battery can triangulate its origin and respond."
"Their job is to provide an early warning," Bryan said. "If the Soldiers see anything suspicious, they call it in to our tactical operations center, which in turn allows us to coordinate the movements of other platoons inside the base to wherever they need to go to address the situation."
As one observation post is reporting what they are seeing, the tactical operations center will call another observation post, Bryan said.
If the second observation post is seeing the same thing as the first, the tactical operations center knows there is something going on out there and will make adjustments in regards to what forces are sent where.
"The intelligence sent up by the observation posts effects how we maneuver our platoons," Bryan said. "Intelligence and security have equal roles in the observation posts because we take what they see and build the "big picture" of what is going on out there.
"Without the observation posts out there on the front line providing the intelligence reports to the tactical operations center, we would basically be sending our Soldiers out into the darkness when they go on convoys or patrols," Bryan said.
The Soldiers who are running the observation posts are very dedicated to their jobs, Bryan said. It takes a lot of self discipline to sit up there for hours on end, seven days a week, 365 days a year, and keep a close watch on anything that might happen.
"They are extremely disciplined, hard working and do an outstanding job," he added.
"The mental drain is tough on the Soldiers, and I really have to commend them because it is difficult to stay strictly focused for as many hours as they have to," Bryan said. "Can you imagine how hard it is to sit in the same spot constantly alert, scanning your sector for hours at a time and looking out into nothing but desert?"
"There isn't a lot to see out there, but the Soldiers have to maintain their mental focus because all it takes is one of the enemy getting inside the wire with the wrong type of equipment to create havoc on a base like Camp Taqqadum," Bryan said.
"We do various things to help keep the morale up," he said. "We have an Moral, Welfare and Recreation tent, but a lot of the Soldiers like to go work out at the gym because we put a lot of emphasis on physical training."
The Soldiers are here for 12 months and there is no reason why they shouldn't be in the best shape of their life when they go back, he said. The observation post Soldiers" shifts are set up so when they come off of duty they have time to work out, and there are also some intramural sports, cookouts and movie nights put together by the battalion so the Soldiers can relax on their down time.
"Ours is a 12-month tour, and these Soldiers will spend the vast majority of their time manning the observation posts, so we try to switch them out to give them something different," Harbert said. "It is very crucial to have every asset available at our dispense when focusing on the strength of the force behind the observation posts."
"We have recently received enough augmentees to where we can switch the Soldiers out and give them different tasks other than manning the observation posts," Harbert said. "This acts as sort of a break from the strain of the job, because it usually goes unnoticed and is very monotonous."
"The Soldiers are doing a fine job, and they can't be praised enough for what they are doing," Harbert said.
"The Soldiers up there are still human, they are like all of us, they have good days and they have bad days," Bryan said. "A lot of their emotions come from news they might have gotten from back home while talking to their family the day before."
"Sometimes they may come to work upset, but as a whole they are very motivated," Bryan said. "They know what they are doing here is important, and that is part of our job as leadership to communicate to them how important their job is and how it ties into the big picture."
"If they aren't there, who is going to provide that early warning? We have sensors that we use, but they can go down," Bryan said. "These guys are the human element that we have out there on the front line, telling us what is going on.
They understand this, and that's why when it is time to go to work they put everything else aside and go do it."
| Date Taken: | 05.10.2005 |
| Date Posted: | 05.10.2005 10:58 |
| Story ID: | 1796 |
| Location: | AL TAQADDUM, IQ |
| Web Views: | 65 |
| Downloads: | 6 |
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