Photo By Sgt. Kandi Huggins | Sgt. Sean Barnett, imagery and intelligence analyst, Headquarters and Headquarters...... read more read more
By Sgt. Kandi Huggins
1st Advise and Assist Task Force
1st Infantry Division, U.S. Division-North
CONTINGENCY OPERATING SITE WARRIOR, Iraq -- After serving in the Army Reserves for three years as a combat engineer, Sgt. Sean Barnett, imagery and intelligence analyst, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Advise and Assist Task Force, 1st Infantry Division, decided he wanted to serve his country in an active-duty capacity.
While in the reserves, Barnett served in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, 2005 to 2006, as a combat engineer with the 571st Engineer Company out of Fort Lewis, Wash.
Stationed at then Forward Operating Base Warhorse, Barnett said his job was driving a gun truck outside the wire every day, adding that the danger to U.S. forces and threat of improvised explosive device attacks were far worse than they are now.
“IEDs and mortar attacks were greater, and the days were longer,” said the Penn Run, Pa., native. “Since the U.S. was doing a majority of the targeting and missions, with the Iraqi army and Iraqi police having less of a joint impact on the mission, we had to stay on constant alert because we were in greater danger of being targeted.”
With OIF being five years in Barnett’s past, he is in Iraq a second time now supporting Operation New Dawn in the intelligence section as a geospatial intelligence specialist, known as GEOINT.
A GEOINT combines multiple sources of intelligence into an overall picture to assist in targeting, operations and missions. They analyze and produce real imagery data of the battlefield in order to provide timely, concise and clear information to the commander.
“In order to ensure our intelligence section was well-rounded and able to conduct any mission, we ensured Barnett was fully trained in GEOINT and could lead a section, providing a new capability to the ‘Devil Brigade’ that we did not have,” said Capt. John Roder, Kirkuk counter-terrorism officer-in-charge, 1st AATF.
Roder, a Kansas City, Mo., native, said Barnett conducts all GEOINT operations for the units on Contingency Operating Site Warrior by providing intelligence, detailed analysis and products to the 1st AATF and its supporting units, including national level intelligence agencies.
Now that the Iraqi Security Forces are leading major operations, Barnett said the U.S. can now focus on protecting our force while helping train the ISF to protect all Iraqis.
“The advise, train, and assist (mission) is a great concept,” said Barnett. “It’s just a matter of them keeping, maintaining and improving the standards they have been taught, versus falling back to old habits and getting complacent.”
“They have been doing what they are doing for over one thousand years and it takes time to change old habits,” he added. “But I feel with them having the most advanced and well-trained army in the world to pass on what works for us, everything we have taught them can be beneficial if it is used correctly, appropriately and repeatedly.”
| Date Taken: | 09.13.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 09.13.2011 10:15 |
| Story ID: | 76945 |
| Location: | CONTINGENCY OPERATING STATION WARRIOR, IQ |
| Web Views: | 112 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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