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Iraq Challenge
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National Guard Bureau FORWARD OPERATIONS BASE CALDWELL, Iraq (10/6/2004) — A full moon that lit the cloudless night almost as brightly as an overcast day made the desert along the Iraq-Iran border that much easier to see for a couple of dozen Army National Guard infantry Soldiers during the early hours of the last Thursday in September. The citizen-Soldiers from the 30th Brigade Combat Team spent that long, humid night checking out one border village in eastern Iraq for a suspected cache of smuggled weapons and conducting a presence patrol along the quiet roads and alleys of the nearby city of Mandali. Their presence in the stillness of that peaceful sector was best defined by the clank and the roar of three Bradley Fighting Vehicles that transported 1st Lt. Christian Smith’s platoon from a remote, modern military base called Forward Operations Base Caldwell where the brigade from North Carolina is flying its flag these days. “These Iraqi people want us here. It’s like the safety factor of having a cop driving through your neighborhood,” maintained Smith, 23, of the patrols that 30th Brigade Soldiers conduct to deter smugglers and insurgents from entering that region. Three Army Guard infantry brigades and the first Army Guard aviation brigade size task force ever deployed to a combat zone are the major Guard elements that are supporting the American-led coalition’s Operation Iraqi Freedom campaign this year. But the Guard numbers will increase significantly during the next few months, Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, repeatedly told Guard Soldiers he met during a fast-paced tour over there during September’s final week. Defense officials claim that 40 percent of the 140,000 troops now serving in Iraq belong to the reserve components. The reservists’ slice of the Iraqi pie will be increased to 60 percent beginning in November, Guard spokesmen said, and the National Guard will field 43 percent – nearly half – of the force. That was the word from Army Guard Col. Jeff Russell, chief of the Reserve Component Division in Iraq. The 42nd Infantry Division’s headquarters from New York is one of the Guard’s major units stepping up to the plate. There are also six brigade combat teams – the 29th from Hawaii, the 56th from Texas, the 116th from Idaho, the 155th from Mississippi, the 256th from Louisiana, and the 278th from Tennessee. “It will take all winter to complete this rotation,” Russell explained. Meanwhile, Guard Soldiers from the 30th Brigade, the 39th Brigade Combat Team from Arkansas and the 81st Brigade Combat Team from the state of Washington are halfway through their year of duty in Iraq. They are performing all kinds of missions in their effort to bring peace and democracy to the country 19 months into Operation Iraqi Freedom and more than nine months after the capture of deposed President Saddam Hussein. New Mexico Army Guard Sgt. Ronette Ray is on duty at a 72-hour internment facility, at Camp Cooke north of Baghdad, where 32 suspected insurgents were being held in late September for suspicious activities including possessing illegal weapons. It is a different duty for Ray who ordinarily serves as a cook. Soldiers from Arkansas’s 1st Battalion, 206th Field Artillery are providing counter fire with their howitzers for the 39th Brigade at Camp Cooke against incoming rockets and mortar rounds, explained Capt. David Stapp. They also conduct fire missions to show insurgents “what can happen to them” if they attack coalition forces. 81st Brigade Soldiers are guarding the three entry points into Logistical Support Area Anaconda, near Balad, and are looking for insurgents who are setting up rockets and placing improvised explosive devices to kill Americans, explained Master Sgt. Joe Menard from California. Civil affairs personnel also meet with sheiks and attend community council meetings in an effort to make friends with the local people and find out how the Americans can help them. “Being in the Guard used to be a lot of fun,” said Menard, an 18-year veteran. “Now it’s rewarding. It’s wonderful to see these Soldiers learn new things and then put them into practice.” The Guard also has the largest of three Army helicopter brigades in the theater, said Col. Bradly MacNealy, commander of the 185th Aviation Task Force from Mississippi, the first Army Guard aviation brigade to go to a combat theater. “We fly from border to border, over every inch of this country,” said MacNealy of that outfit that includes aviators and maintenance personnel from 26 states. “We came here determined to accomplish this mission. Our motto is ‘On Time, On Target.’ “ The Guard has paid a heavy price while honoring its commitments against a faceless enemy that keeps its distance by attacking camps with rockets and mortars and convoys with rocket propelled grenades and explosive devices such as artillery shells. By early October, 133 Guard Soldiers had died while serving in Iraq and during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Eighty-nine of the 103 casualties in Iraq were killed in action. Arkansas Army Guard Sgt. Russell Collier, 48, died on Oct. 3, the victim of a small arms attack. Ironically, American medical personnel at FOB Caldwell cared for one enemy insurgent on Sept. 30, the day after he blew off part of one hand while setting up an explosive device intended to be used against the people who saved his life. “It’s a tough thing to do, but it’s the right thing to do,” said Blum who was visiting the medical facility where the man was being treated. Blum covered a lot of ground during his three-day visit. He even visited Soldiers in the Iraqi National Guard who are training to serve with coalition forces and take a hand in their country’s destiny. “I’ve just held my first town meeting with the Iraqi National Guard,” acknowledged the Guard Bureau chief after conversing with those troops at Camp Cooke. “I am proud of you, and the American people are solidly behind you. They have separated the war from the warriors,” Blum told hundreds of American Guard troops he encountered during other town meetings and while visiting their work sites. “You’re doing what’s right for your country and for your families.” Blum assured them that he is working with Army leaders to shorten future overseas rotations to six or seven months and that he intends to have enough Soldiers trained in military police and other essential skills so that Army Guard units can plan on being deployed every six years. Observing that “this is the opening round in a 15-round fight,” Blum made it clear that the National Guard will remain engaged in the global war on terrorism. “We have to stop these guys here so we don’t see them in downtown Little Rock or somewhere else in our country,” he said. The Guard Soldiers understand what’s at stake, and they believe in the mission. “We’re doing a lot of good over here. We’re building schools, meeting with village leaders and building grain storage facilities,” insisted 30th Brigade Staff Sgt. Bryan Finch, 27, from Clayton, N.C., while taking part in the night presence patrol near the Iraq-Iran border. “It’s tough to be here for so long,” Finch added, “but I’m going to stay in the Guard as long as I can. I still like what I do.” Last 10 Stories
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2004 National Guard Bureau |
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