CAMP RAMADI, Iraq — U.S. forces in Ramadi are partnering with Iraqi Highway Patrol to conduct nightly route clearance patrols in the highest-threat zone in Al Anbar province.
Engineers from Company A, 1st Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division (Advise and Assist), conduct routine street-level engagements with the IHP.
Third Platoon is responsible for route clearance operations in east Al Anbar province, Iraq. The platoon has conducted 80 combat route-clearance patrols in Al Anbar province, and has cleared 10,000 kilometers of route. They have conducted 70 street-level engagements with IHP forces along the routes. The platoon is the company main effort for the counter improvised-explosive-device fight in east Anbar.
During these patrols, platoon leader 2nd Lt. Andrew Berreth cultivates relationships with the IHP manning static checkpoints along the main and alternate supply routes frequently travelled U.S. forces.
His first mission involved identifying where these checkpoints existed and developing a database on basic facts about the checkpoints, he said.
"Initially, there was little information on the disposition, composition and strength of these checkpoints," said Berreth. "For far too long, coalition convoys had just passed right on by without second thought to who was manning these points and what their mission was."
Berreth quickly took ownership and integrated nightly engagements with IHP occupying 32 different checkpoints along the routes. What he discovered varied by area, but one thing remained constant: the highway patrol officers manning these checkpoints were dedicated and personable, he said.
What started as a mission to chart the unknown quickly developed into building strong relationships with the security forces on the ground.
Not only has Berreth documented a wealth of knowledge of day-to-day operations of these checkpoints, but he has also built a conduit of information sharing between USF and the IHP, according to his company commander, Capt. Kurt Zortman.
"By now the IHP know 2nd Lt. Berreth by name at all 32 check points," said Zortman. "He is a welcomed presence and has found a group of IHP that are proud to be part of the Iraqi security forces, and are genuinely concerned about the welfare of their nation."
Berreth has found that the IHP provides a wide range of mission sets, from providing over watch from static positions, security to key infrastructure and actively searching vehicles as they travel from one part of Iraq to another, he said.
Occasionally, the visits are more social and involve a glass of chai and a good conversation about recent events in the area. Berreth provides advice on how to better harden their positions for the most relevant threat in the area and exchange different vehicle-search techniques with the IHP. He reminds the IHP that they are integral to the counter IED fight by providing eyes on the routes well after his platoon has cleared them.
"The IHP manning these checkpoints are the unspoken heroes of the counter IED fight in Al Anbar," said Zortman. "They endure some of the least desirable working conditions in some of the most austere areas of the province.
"Their tenacity and dedication to the cause has helped lead to the stability that has been achieved," he said, "and their efforts will endure long after coalition forces are retrograded from the area."