Photo By Daniel Rangel | U.S. Army Sgt. Anthony D. Roberts, of Pennsauken, N.J., who helped lead the mounted...... read more read more
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By Army Pfc. Daniel M. Rangel
22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
FORWARD OPERATING BASE MEHTAR LAM, Afghanistan – Taliban and al-Qaida insurgents manufacturing IEDs in the caves and compounds of the Alishang Valley are being hunted day and night by infantrymen of the 1st Battalion, 158th Infantry Regiment, an Arizona National Guard unit.
The 1-158th, has been conducting regular patrols, combined with Afghan security forces, as part of a greater effort to push farther into northern Laghman province where, up until now, insurgents have been known to roam relatively freely.
"We've seen an increase in insurgent activity in the Alishang Valley," Army 1st Lt. Darcy Jones, the battalion intelligence officer from Maricopa, Ariz., said.
"Foreign fighters, IED (improvised explosive device) financiers, and weapons caches have been identified in the valley," Army Capt. Jon Cookson, the battalion plans officer from Phoenix, said.
The 1-158th mission in Afghanistan is two-fold. In addition to the traditional infantry missions involving patrols and area responsibility in Laghman province, the battalion also provides security forces for Provincial Reconstruction Teams across Afghanistan.
"The security our troops provide the PRTs is essential so that the teams can focus on their mission – working with the local Afghans to build schools, roads, infrastructure and support for the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan," Army Maj. John Bozicevic, the 1-158th public affairs officer from Chandler, Ariz., said.
The vast majority of the unit's citizen-Soldiers hail from Arizona. Additional troops fill the ranks from the Individual Ready Reserve along with Hawaii, New Jersey, and New York National Guardsmen. For some, this is their fourth deployment in support of the Global War on Terrorism.
When not deployed, most of these Soldiers have regular full-time jobs or attend college, but after mobilizing in January, the 1-158th began training for their mission at Fort Bragg, N.C., and arrived in Afghanistan in late March.
The 1-158th Soldiers out of Forwad Operating Base Mehtar Lam make regular visits to the Afghan national police compound in Laghman province to link up and conduct patrols along side them.
The unit also maintains a combat outpost halfway up the Alishang in Najil in order to maintain a presence there with the Afghan national army.
"The COP is very austere," Bozicevic said. "We need a place where we can operate out of, a place to store water and food. G Battery, 4-319th AFAR of the 173rd [Airborne Brigade Combat Team] runs supplies up all the time."
During one mission, the 1-158th conducted a foot patrol in the dark and traversed the many different ruins in Laghman province. For this particular mission, the unit was searching for an IED manufacturing site hidden in the bombed-out mud huts of the province.
"Night patrols deter IED emplacement in key areas," Cookson said.
"The majority of IEDs are emplaced at night," Jones added.
"We walk the mountains almost every day," Seth A. Lowell said, a full-time student and Criminal Justice major from Quakertown, Pa. "We'll hike miles."
The team going out on the dismounted patrol conducted July 18 included Army Sgt. Corey Conaway from Chandler, Ariz., Army Sgt. Jose Rodriguez and Army Command Sgt. Maj. John Bauer also from Chandler, Ariz.
"I think we had good discipline out there," Rodriguez said.
The terrain is challenging and keeping a low profile requires discipline, strength and stamina.
The process of spreading the influence and authority of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan into these austere places where Humvees can't reach begins with dismounted patrols. After securing a site, Soldiers construct a combat outpost that can store basic supplies for long-term operations.
"We want to establish a foothold in an area that's historically been a hideout for insurgents," Jones said.
With winter coming, it's a race against time, Bozicevic said.
| Date Taken: | 07.27.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 07.27.2007 07:49 |
| Story ID: | 11485 |
| Location: | TAL AFAR, IQ |
| Web Views: | 1,070 |
| Downloads: | 413 |
This work, 1-158th Infantry hunt insurgents in rugged Afghanistan, by Daniel Rangel, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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