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By Sgt. Kevin Stabinsky
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division
FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq – Three months into their tour, on April 13, one day after Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced active duty deployments would go from 12 to 15 months, Dogface Soldiers of 5th Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment learned of the news.
"It was like starting over," said Command Sgt. Maj. William Transue, 5-7th Cav. Regt. command sergeant major.
It was a phrase that could well sum up the unit's deployment. In 15 months, the group covered down on three different areas, twice entering areas that had little coalition force or government of Iraq presence.
The unit started in the rural desert landscape around Ramadi and then moved into the city of Fallujah, closing down the final three months in the agricultural area of Sayifiyah south of Baghdad.
In addition to changes in scenery, the unit also had to deal with falling under the commands of different higher headquarters, said Transue, of Point Pleasant, N.J. The unit reported to their own brigade, the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, during their first three months; to U.S. Marine Regimental Combat Team 6 during the following nine months; and to the 2nd BCT, 3rd Infantry Division during the past three months.
Despite the changes, one constant always remained.
"No matter what the mission or task, we attacked it aggressively and accomplished it," said Lt. Col. Clifford Wheeler, commander, 5-7th Cav. Regt.
Accomplishing the task
Although not a Surge brigade, the 1st BCT, 3rd Inf. Div. held a very similar mission – to help bring about security and stability to whatever region they were deployed to.
Like the surge brigades though, they knew they would be following the new counterinsurgency policy.
"Before we left Fort Stewart we knew we wouldn't be living like before," Transue said. "We expected the worst, living in vehicles, but hoped for the best to maintain a positive attitude."
Unlike previous Operation Iraqi Freedom deployments, the leadership knew that they would not be commuting to work every day. Rather than leaving the security of large forward operating bases to patrol towns for a few hours, moving back to the FOB at the end of the mission, the squadron knew they would be living among the population, moving into the community to better interact with the locals.
Wheeler, a native of Woodville, Miss., said moving into the community helped to keep control of key terrain. "We don't fight for a piece of ground twice," he said.
The strategy of clearing and holding ground forced the Soldiers to live minimally, out of their vehicles for a few weeks, Transue said, as patrol bases were set up.
While conditions were sometimes austere, especially in the initial construction phases of patrol bases, looking back Soldiers have nothing but positive feedback on the new strategy.
"COPs (combat outposts) were 100 percent more effective," said Staff Sgt. Joshua Nuss, 2nd platoon, Bandit Troop, Bradley commander. "It was a harder lifestyle, but it kept Soldiers a lot safer."
"It's pretty necessary," added Spc. Carl Duke, Bandit Troop, a Humvee driver in 2nd platoon, Bandit Troop. "You need to be closely intertwined to have the greatest outcome; we couldn't have had the same outcome from a FOB."
Credit where credit is due
Having Iraqis take control of their own country has been the long-standing goal of top commanders in the Pentagon. However, actually making that happen fell on the shoulders of junior leaders within units.
"I give credit to the junior NCOs and officers." Transue said. "The things we do are done at the platoon and squad level. We go out as a section, a squad."
Nuss, of Larned, Kan., a previous Iraq war veteran, said one of the biggest changes he saw from previous deployments was the change in responsibilities being made at lower levels.
"The biggest change was in our junior Soldiers and the amount of responsibility, flexibility, and leadership they showed. They were put in situations mostly for E6s (staff sergeants). The Soldiers were extremely competent."
Much of that competence came from strong Soldier mentoring.
Transue said to do this he worked very closely with his fellow NCOs, particularly the first sergeants, giving them the ability to develop plans and back them up.
"Any of my first sergeants are capable of doing my job," he said.
Wheeler also said he mentored his officers, teaching them to be bold by giving them a lot of flexibility to make decisions, making them be responsible for their units, encouraging them to enforce standards, and learning to be a tough but compassionate leader.
Nuss said he worked with his junior Soldiers, staying constantly involved with them like "a brother."
In this sense, the extension was a blessing. Although 90 days extra seemed long at first, the change stimulated leaders to get even more involved with their troops, said Wheeler.
"Finding out early in the deployment we had a long time to adjust. We addressed it head on," he said, noting he sent a letter out to every family. "We get it out of our system and stayed positive. We did this very well."
The mentoring and positive attitudes spilled out from troops into the areas they worked in, said Duke, a native of Indianapolis, Ind. "The biggest thing we saw was the positive change in locals."
Duke, serving his first deployment, said at first he wondered how much good they could do in Sayifiyah, in 90 days. It was an area rarely touched by Coalition forces and serving as an insurgent sanctuary.
"When we made the last major move into our new AO (area of operations), I figured we wouldn't be able to help out much," he said. "But due to the way the unit operated and conducted themselves as a whole, a lot of progress was made."
A Sons of Iraq group was started, local farmers formed a union, Iraqi doctors came to assess the health of citizens, while civil affairs teams and a State Department embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team came to jumpstart local businesses with microgrants.
"The more dignity you treat them with, the better they (Iraqis) respond to you," Nuss said. "We are all just human beings."
The response they received from Iraqis was a highlight for Cpl. Nathan Cranor, 2nd platoon, Crazy Troop, Bradley gunner.
Cranor, of Aspen, Colo., said his favorite part of the tour was in Ramadi, dismounting and interacting with the locals, performing good works such as opening parks, schools and clinics.
The interaction did more than just change the hearts and minds of the Iraqis.
At first, Cpl. Guillermo Roman, 1st platoon, platoon leader gunner, of Miami, Fla., said he was hesitant interacting with people, fearing they were all terrorists, thinking that every day would be combat intense and full of danger.
"It was not at all like we thought. It was almost a complete opposite. We did more humanitarian assistance," he said. "As you start to know the people, it's just a couple of guys bringing them down."
And thanks to these Soldiers, positive relationships were built up.
"In Ramadi and Sayifiyah, people started to cheer us," Roman said. "When we came here it was a ghost town. Now people live there. All they needed is a boost."
Coming home
Although the current tour has ended, the squadron still has much to accomplish, just not in Iraq.
The first goal is to a have successful reintegration, to include block leave, Transue said.
For each of the Soldiers, integration means a lot of different things. Nuss plans to spend as much time as possible with his wife, buy a home with his savings and work on starting a family.
"I'm just going to take it nice and easy, take it slow," he said. "I need to keep in mind I'm back in Stewart, not Iraq."
Duke is looking to start a new family by proposing to his girlfriend while simultaneously working on a bachelor's degree in information technology.
Others, like Cranor plan on spending more time alone, pursuing their own hobbies such as dirt bike riding and "eating at a good restaurant."
From there, after receiving their well-deserved leave, the next step is to reset the squad and prepare for the next mission. Although Transue said he is proud of their success, he said he's sure the unit will return.
Training and re-staffing will need to occur. "We'll look at how we will reset the squads and prepare for the next mission," Transue said. "The things we do in garrison will make us better over here."
Before planning begins for the future, he is focusing on the short-term and the wellbeing of his Soldiers.
"Our main concern is to make sure Soldiers who need help get it from agencies they need," Transue said. "We want guys to get well and do so responsibly and safely."
After 15 months at war, some Soldiers may feel ashamed at having to seek help. However, Wheeler stressed the importance of it.
"It is not a sign of weakness to ask for help," he said, adding the brigade is looking at potential high-risk situations like Soldiers who lost families, friends or had their marriages break up during the deployment.
Even those who do not face these circumstances will have some adjustments, having just endured working more than 400 days straight.
"Soldiers need to relearn how to be a dad, son, boyfriend, and husband. We're going to teach guys how to integrate, to be as good a Soldier off duty as on duty, to get reacquainted with their families," said Wheeler.
Wheeler, who said he is not ready to quit being a Soldier, said all the squadron's missions ended in success.
"No matter what mission we received, we would deliberately execute what we were told to do," he said. "We can walk with our heads held high."
And thankfully, for Soldiers and their families, that walking will be done in their own communities, surrounded not by a war-torn landscape, but by the love and pride of their neighbors, families and friends.
| Date Taken: | 04.05.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 04.05.2008 14:27 |
| Story ID: | 18106 |
| Location: | ISKANDARIYAH, IQ |
| Web Views: | 478 |
| Downloads: | 211 |
This work, 5-7 Cav. reflects on time in Iraq, looks ahead to homecoming, by SGT Kevin Stabinsky, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
