Courtesy Photo | Staff Sgt. Benjamin G. Emery (left), and Pfc. Casey G. Little, move out in front of...... read more read more
Story, photos by Spc. Jeremy D. Crisp
MNC -- I PAO
August 16, 2005
MOSUL, Iraq -- They're loaded to the hilt with weapons, armor and ammunition. They roll out in their Stryker Light Armored Vehicle to beat the 120-degree-streets daily; smiling, waiving, keeping rapport with the locals. They are also searching, detaining, confiscating. Anything to accomplish the mission.
They are Weapons Squad, a battle-hardened group of Soldiers who are working to secure Iraq, one neighborhood at a time.
Whether it's on foot, or from the vantage point of a Stryker, the squad -- from 3rd Platoon, Company C, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash., -- puts their boots to the ground with patrols designed to "check out certain hot spots," said Staff Sgt. Kelekolio P. Paresa, platoon sergeant for 3rd Plt.
"(Observation posts) are a big thing we like to do," Paresa said. "That's when we watch over an area and catch people trying to set up (improvised explosive devices)."
Along with setting up OPs, the Soldiers conduct knock and search operations, allowing for communication with the residents about what is happening in the neighborhoods. This can prove helpful in apprehending suspects.
"When we're out patrolling, we'll go into the houses and talk to the people to find out how things are in the area," said Staff Sgt. Benjamin G. Emery, squad leader. "We usually find somebody who wants to talk and tell us what's going on and whether or not there are (anti-Iraqi forces) in the area."
A touch of kindness can go a long way in these operations, Paresa said.
"We always try to put the residents at ease once we get down and go in a house," Paresa said. "The residents seem scared sometimes, so we always try to shake hands, wave at them and say hello."
This genuine strategy has seemed to work when it comes to finding contraband or the bad guys.
"You name it, we've found it," said Emery, who hails from Laconia, N.H. "We've found some big weapons caches, and we've done countless missions at night where we've received intelligence from citizens that there is a bad guy at this place, and we'll go hit the house, search it, get confirmation that that's the guy we're looking for and detain him. We've taken quite a few bad people off the street that way."
And the troops from Weapons Squad are getting some help in their efforts. The Iraqi army has started patrolling with the squad, a partnership that will continue until the Soldiers redeploy in October.
"(In early July) we did our first dismounted patrol with the Iraqi army," said Paresa, a 12-year veteran from Mauai, Hawaii. "They had one street and we walked another paralleling them.
"We help them out, show them the correct way to do things, and they've picked that up and will eventually do it on their own," he said.
This includes handling the cordon and search operations.
A recent raid at a suspected terrorist's house found the IA handling the take down, while the Soldiers from Weapons Squad set up a perimeter.
"The IA is doing everything inside," Paresa said during the predawn raid. "They're taking down the building, but if they need help, then we'll go in and help them. Right now we are just trying to get them confident and up so they can take over."
While the squad works to involve the IA more, their missions still require them to be ready go at any time, with or without their Iraqi counterparts. Getting the squad to the field quickly with firepower, at any time, is the job of their heavily-armored and agile vehicles, the Stryker.
The vehicle has 14.5-millimeter armor piercing round protection, including 152- millimeter artillery airburst protection.
With improvised explosive devices being set off at the squad regularly, this armor, along with the Stryker's resiliency, has kept the Soldiers in the fight, said Pfc. Casey G. Little, the newest infantryman to the squad.
"When we first got here, we tested ourselves and the Strykers," Little said. "We've seen them get hit a lot and take minimal damage thanks to the armor. We're pretty snug when we're in the Strykers, and it's not that scary when something goes off at us.
"We've had vehicles hit with IEDs, have all 8 tires blown off, and still the vehicle drove back to camp on just the rims," Little said. "You can hardly do damage to the Stryker."
Although attributing some of their success to the Stryker, it's the bond the troops share with each other that has kept them motivated and alive, Paresa said.
Each member has been with the squad for the past year in Iraq, and some have known each other for several years.
There is constant chatter among the group; a jarring, humorous biting at each other like loving brothers. A bond where each man is ready to lay their life down for another without thought.
As the troops head out on the last mission of a hot Mosul day, they talk of what they're going to buy when they get home and how much they miss their wives, girlfriends, and the wonderful Fort Lewis weather. When they reach their destination though, the focus shifts back to the mission at hand.
"Back it up to the wall so we've got cover!" Paresa yelled to the driver.
The ramp drops -- "GO! GO! GO!"
| Date Taken: | 08.25.2005 |
| Date Posted: | 08.25.2005 15:36 |
| Story ID: | 2827 |
| Location: | MOSUL, IQ |
| Web Views: | 275 |
| Downloads: | 34 |
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