Story by: Spc. Al Barrus
FALLUJAH, Iraq -- U.S. Forces took control of the former insurgent stronghold of Fallujah after less than a week of fighting during Operation Phantom Fury. Part of 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment's victory came with the help of a ready and reliable mortar platoon.
Standing by 24 hours a day during seven days of battle, the 2-7 Cav. Headquarters Company mortarmen received dozens of missions daily. Even from six kilometers away the mortarmen played a vital role in the operation and helped pacify the hostile city.
"Being a mortar man, it's good knowing that we fire these rounds and take out a lot of the [insurgents]," Spc. Daniel Ethridge, a mortarman in Headquarters Company said. "It's not too much effort on our part, and we can take out 40 guys with one round."
The platoon broke a personal record in one week of missions by firing an enormous number of 120 mm high-explosive rounds.
"We are pushing over 600 rounds in this week," said Capt. Nick Gratkowski, the mortar platoon leader. "That's a record for us. The most rounds we will fire back at Fort Hood is about 250 in one year, so we have shot off a couple of years worth here."
Receiving so many fire missions, and firing so many rounds places a significant workload on these troops, especially when missions come during the dead of night.
"We stand by all day listening to the radio for fire missions," Ethridge said. "At night we take turns listening to the radio and just sleep real light. We're on call 24 seven. After seven days of doing these shifts, we are starting to get real tired."
While sleep remains limited, the living conditions at the 2-7 Cav. base, Alpha Otter, are no cup of tea either, the mortarman said.
"We've been sitting and sleeping out here on our M113 track vehicles for seven days straight and it gets pretty dull," Spc. William Armstrong, a mortarman, said. "To stay clean we have no showers. Out here that's what baby wipes and bottled water are for. As for food, mornings and lunch we eat [Meals Ready to Eat], but at nights they bring in hot chow and that really helps. It's something to look forward to."
The mortar team has spent the majority of their deployment at Taji, Iraq, north of Baghdad. There they have pretty nice living conditions. Even compared to their time in Najaf, their setup outside of Fallujah is the grittiest, they said.
"At Najaf we had an actual place to fire from which was pretty secure" Ethridge said. "We were next to an [Iraqi Police] station, and we could go inside and relax, here we are just in the middle of a desert."
Even with their current conditions, the platoon leader says his men get the job done without argument.
"We have nothing fancy here," Gratkowski said. "Hey, we get hot chow at night. My guys aren't complaining. They are the craziest guys in the battalion, but also the hardest working. Whatever mission I give them, they will do it to their best. My men are why I love my job."
| Date Taken: | 11.22.2004 |
| Date Posted: | 11.22.2004 14:23 |
| Story ID: | 634 |
| Location: | FALLUJAH, IQ |
| Web Views: | 177 |
| Downloads: | 26 |
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