Berm to Berm: 2-124th Leads the way Then and now

CAMP VIRGINIA, KUWAIT

10.01.2010

Story by Pfc. Lindsey Jones 

53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team

CAMP VIRGINIA, Kuwait - There are few chances in the military for soldiers and units to be part of the beginning and the end of the same war, yet soldiers of 2nd battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment, of the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, have had the opportunity to do just that.

In the winter of 2002 the Seminole Battalion put their families and lives on hold and began their first tour of Iraq. A short seven years later they once again deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and continued the legacy for the Florida National Guard, as the 2010 deployment was the largest deployment of Florida National Guard Soldiers since WWII.

In late 2002, the Seminole soldiers were called upon to go to war, with barely a week’s notice to prepare their families, pack their bags and get their affairs in order before mobilization. It was the day after Christmas when 2-124 headed to Fort Stewart, Ga.

By February the battalion was in the Middle East and awaiting orders, reflected Maj. Jerry Glass, Company C Commander then, now the battalion’s Executive Officer.

Days before conventional ground troops entered Iraq in 2003; Company C breached the berm on the Iraqi border, allowing 5th Special Forces Group to covertly enter the country, said Sgt. William Hunter. Hunter was in Co. C at the time, and now serves as an Assistant Squad Leader with Co. D, 2-124.

From there the soldiers of Company C eventually moved into the Baghdad Convention Center in downtown Baghdad where they lived in public restrooms, Hunter said.

Soldiers of Companies A and B moved into airplane hangars in Ballad, where they took control of Logistics Support Area Anaconda, said Sgt. 1st Class David Cox, a team leader in B Co. at the time. When they first arrived they slept on the ground and they later received cots to sleep on, had no running water or electricity and ate Meals Ready to Eat three times a day. They later moved into tents with heat and air-conditioning and gained a dining facility, he added.

Until they left in 2004 soldiers of 2nd Battalion manned check points, patrolled the streets of Iraq, conducted boat patrols on the Tigris River, as well as protected convoys and senior officials meeting at the convention center in downtown Baghdad, said Glass.

In stark contrast to the 2002 notification Seminole soldiers were given well over a year to make the necessary arrangements for this deployment and the battalion’s role is drastically different from their first tour. “2-124 conducts convoy security operations in Kuwait and Iraq to ensure the uninterrupted flow of personnel and equipment throughout the Kuwait and Iraq Theater of Operations,” Glass said.

“This is the end where we are supporting the drawdown,” said Cox. “We are not on the offensive but we must maintain the same posture because the danger is still out there.”

Soldiers from A Company 2-124 escorted the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, from Khabari Crossing to Camp Virginia, Kuwait, said Capt. Ryan Swinford, A Company Commander.

Seminole soldiers will not only carry home the sounds, smells and memories they made here, they also take with them a sense of accomplishment as well as pride in themselves and their unit. These soldiers had the rare opportunity to make history for a second time in seven years and they now lead the way as we enter into Operation New Dawn.

“I am truly proud to have had the opportunities to serve my country, state, and battalion over the years in support of OIF, it’s been a long hard war,” said Cox.

• Date Taken: 10.01.2010
• Date Posted: 10.07.2010 01:35
• Story ID: 57646
• Location: CAMP VIRGINIA, KW