Putting the CROWS to work

Photo By Sgt. Cheryl Cox | Sgt. Anthony Marino, a CROWS operator with Co. D, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, uses the Common Remotely Operated Weapons System thermal sights during a route recon along a road in Tarmiyah, Iraq.  

12.07.2006

Courtesy Story

1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division

By Sgt. Cheryl Cox
1st BCT, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs

AL TARMIYAH, Iraq – Along a route where their fellow Soldiers were struck by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) later in the day, a platoon of Soldiers attempt to catch insurgents setting up IEDs in the hours before sunrise.

The Soldiers of Company D, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment know the road into the Joint Command Center in Tarmiyah, Iraq, is known for IED attacks, but they also know that the best time to place the IEDs is under the cover of darkness.

In an attempt to catch the insurgents, the Soldiers conducted a route reconnaissance Dec. 7 to see if they could find locate any insurgents emplacing IEDs along one of the main roads in Tarmiyah.

"The only real way to catch the insurgents emplacing the IEDs to to catch them when they do it," said 1st Lt. Gwilym Newman, a platoon leader with Co. D, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment. "It is also important that we use the Common Remotely Operated Weapons System (CROWS) while conducting route reconnaissance and when setting up observation points because it gives us the ability to cover a large area regardless of the cover that an insurgent may be using because of the thermal sights that detect heat signatures for a distance (greater than 1000 meters)."

Whether conducting an observation point or route reconnaissance, the Soldiers know that what they are doing is saving the lives of their buddies.

"This time we went further out which gave us a better chance of finding someone setting up an IED," said Staff Sgt. Daryl Rhodes, a section sergeant with Co. D, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment.

During the route reconnaissance there were two possible targets identified along the route – each identified by a different vehicle within the convoy.

"The first positive identification that was made during the mission was of a person carrying an unknown object through the elephant grass along the side of the road," said Newman.

"Based on the location of the person and the distance between myself and the person, I was unable to see them with the CROWS," said Sgt. Anthony Marino, a CROWS operator with Co. D, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment. "However, as we began to leave that position and head toward the JCC I saw what looked like a person lying on the ground."

Although the CROWS system is the best system for missions under the cover of darkness, it can sometimes be hard to get a 100-percent identification of what you are looking at.

"As soon as I noticed the hot spot on the side of the road I told the driver to stop," said Marino. "I wasn't entirely sure if it was a person or not, but the area was showing up hotter than even the lights in the area – so I took a little extra time to look at it."

At the end of the mission, the Soldiers made it back to the JCC without a definitive positive identification of any insurgents trying to place IEDs.

"It was a good mission," said Newman. "This was the first time this team had conducted a mission like this, and they did a very good job."

• Date Taken: 12.07.2006
• Date Posted: 12.12.2006 09:50
• Story ID: 8554