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FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq (January 14, 2008) - An
Iraqi policeman ran toward a group of soldiers as they approached
the pump station outside Kassipa, near Salman Pak, Dec. 21. Bent
over with his weapon clutched tightly, he appeared worried.
The soldiers, from the mortar platoon, Headquarters Company, 1st
Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, sought cover as Capt. Chris
Pearson, platoon leader, and Sgt. 1st Class Robert Lucas, platoon
sergeant, ran over with their interpreter to talk to the
policeman.
The pair followed the policeman to a pump station next to the
Tigris River. The policeman explained that a sniper on the other
side of the river was shooting at the station. His explanation was
confirmed as the sound of rifle fire rang out across the water and
a round struck the ground nearby.
On the road outside the pump station, soldiers strained to see
where the gunshot came from. Sgt. Jason Neale, from Punxsutawney,
Pa., reminded his soldiers to use the cover around them.
At the pump station, Lucas and Pearson scanned across the river
for the sniper. Lucas saw a man move quickly from cover and
disappear into the palm grove on the other side of the river. He
was unable to get a clear shot at the shooter.
"I was in Fallujah my last deployment," said Lucas, from Laguna,
Calif. "It was all desert and hills there. ... It's all palm groves
and dense vegetation here, near the river. Fighting tends to be
more up close and personal."
Pearson decided to continue with the patrol.
"We're going to change up our route," said Pearson, from Baton
Rouge, La. "We went the same way the last time we were over here,
so we're going to change it up just to be on the safe side."
Keeping their intervals and staying on opposite sides of the
road, the soldiers of the mortar platoon pushed on until small-arms
fire erupted from the right side of the patrol. They immediately
hit the ground and sought concealment along the roadside, as enemy
bullets whistled overhead. They began firing back into the thick
vegetation.
"Is anyone hurt?" Pearson asked. When everyone responded they
were OK, Lucas popped up and started directing his soldiers.
"All right!" Lucas shouted. "We are bounding around the corner!
Move!"
Bodies low and weapons at the ready, two teams took turns
guarding each others' movements as they worked around to a small
group of houses the gunfire was coming from.
Sgt. William Ball, from Columbus, Ohio, wiped blood from his
face as he moved. A cut across the bridge of his nose, where an
enemy bullet ricocheted off rocks in front of him and tore off his
eye protection, proved only a minor inconvenience to the determined
mortarman. Sgt. Newroy Henry, the platoon's medic, went to inspect
Ball, but was waved off by the soldier.
"It's fine," Ball said as he prepared to go into the first
house. "It's just a scratch."
Methodically, the platoon searched each house and checked every
male there for gunpowder and explosive residue. Neale and Spc.
Jonathan Colton, from Peach Tree City, Ga., swabbed each man's hand
and arms, but every test came back negative. The homes contained no
contraband or used shells, so the soldiers gave up their
search.
"They're gone," Ball said. "They ran as soon as we started
firing back."
The platoon continued with the patrol despite having taken
contact.
"It's real good to get out," Neale said. "Our guys need to get
out and see the country and the people here. When the people here
see us they try to give us gifts and chai. They attempt to feed us.
Some of them know me by name. My team does a good job of
interacting with people. It helps us out in a lot of ways."
Neale recounted what it was like at Combat Outpost Cahill when
he first arrived.
"It was hot out here at first," he said. "After our first week
here, we started attacking the insurgents, and the attacks have
really fallen off. When you go (from) getting hit with indirect
fire every few days to getting hit with indirect fire every other
month, it's huge."
Lucas explained reasons for the improvement.
"The reason we haven't been shot at in a while is a combination
of the concerned local citizens and aggressive patrolling. We know
the area and the people here," Lucas said. "It makes a
difference."
Shortly after the attack, the platoon arrived at the home of
Sheik Hamed, a local leader in Kassipa. Hamed greeted the soldiers
warmly, making sure to shake everyone's hand and offering chai to
the platoon.
Pearson and Lucas talked with the local leader about the
progress of several projects that Pearson and 489th Civil Affairs
Battalion, a reserve unit from Knoxville, Tenn., currently attached
to 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, had started in town.
As their visit came to a close, Henry checked on Hamed's
daughters, who had both been injured in a mortar attack two weeks
earlier. The girls were cleaning and peeling vegetables in their
backyard when a mortar round landed near them. Both suffered
significant shrapnel damage to their legs.
On the platoon's previous trip, Henry made sure the wounds were
healing properly and changed both girls' dressings. As the family
gathered around, Henry gently examined each wound and made sure
they were clean. An ugly five-inch gash on the elder girl's upper
leg worried him, and he applied more antibiotic cream.
"I know it hurts, but you have to keep it clean," he explained
to the family through the platoon's interpreter. "The shrapnel will
eventually work itself out, but you cannot let it get infected.
Then we will have problems."
When Henry was satisfied the family understood what needed to be
done, he nodded to Pearson, and it was time to leave. The patrol
continued their march down to a concerned local citizens
checkpoint.
"We are working with them to help them protect their
communities," Pearson said. "We are near a major route, and we need
the CLCs to help us monitor it. They have really stepped up and
coordinated security here.
"Our platoon is trying to help the concerned local citizens to
protect their community here. We are trying to help them with
checkpoints, and the program gives them jobs. ... By patrolling out
here every day, we are showing them that we will work and fight
with them," Pearson said.
Pearson explained that the area was much more dangerous before
1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, arrived.
"When we took over patrolling this town, no one wanted it," he
said. "The local leader here had been killed a year prior, and
people here were afraid. ... Sheik Ali (the leader of the concerned
local citizens in the area) and the CLCs have done a good job of
working with us to push the insurgents out of the area."
The concerned local citizens manning the checkpoint were happy
to see Pearson's platoon and greeted them as they walked by. "It
makes a huge difference having them out here," Pearson said.
After patrolling for five hours, the platoon headed back to the
combat outpost to get ready for their fire missions that night.
"They all work hard," Pearson said. "You couldn't ask for a
better group of soldiers."
First Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment is assigned to the 3rd
Infantry Division's 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, from Fort
Benning, Ga., and has been deployed in support of Operation Iraqi
Freedom since March.
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