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North Dakota Trailblazers’ Success Continues
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By Sgt. Amy Dobler Headquarters Company 141st Engineer Combat Battalion FOB SPEICHER, Iraq (10/12/2004) — Soldiers found and destroyed an average of almost one roadside bomb a day during their sixth month of Task Force Trailblazer. The assured-mobility mission pits 141st Engineer Combat Battalion soldiers against improvised explosive devices emplaced by insurgents along Iraq’s roadways. The Trailblazers are on the winning team: 22 IEDs were found during Month 6 before they could detonate and injure or kill others. The battalion patrols throughout the 1st Infantry Division’s area of operations in north-central Iraq and has discovered and destroyed 161 IEDs there since beginning the Trailblazer mission. Soldiers also work to reduce the IED threat by shaping Iraq’s terrain to remove places where insurgents can hide or emplace IEDs. Soldiers seek out and destroy pieces of unexploded ordnance, as well, which can be used to make IEDs. Nearly 9,000 pieces of ordnance have been found so far. Task Force Trailblazer, the 141st’s main mission in Iraq, is conducted by A Company, which is comprised of soldiers from the 164th Engineer Combat Battalion out of Williston and Dickinson; B Company, which is based in Jamestown; and C Company, which is based in Bismarck with detachments in Mott and Hettinger. Headquarters Company supports Trailblazer elements and is based in Valley City. Last 10 Stories |
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2004 National Guard Bureau |
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