Photo By Sgt. Mike MacLeod | Col. Mark R. Stammer, commander of 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division (Advise and...... read more read more
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CAMP RAMADI, Iraq – It wasn't a rent-to-own plan when an 82nd Airborne brigade loaned 3rd Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment to 3rd Infantry Division to cover down on the Tal Afar area of northern Iraq.
The airborne light-infantry reconnaissance battalion, or "squadron" in cavalry-speak, left Anbar-based 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division (Advise and Assist), in late 2009 to lend a hand in northern Iraq, where the sometimes competing interests of Arabs, Yezidis and Kurds, and the threat of smuggled goods and foreign fighters across the Syrian border warranted their movement, they were told.
Relationships between military divisions, brigades, battalions and even companies can be as complex and dynamic as real estate, from ownership to leasing to "renting" by the hour. Functionally speaking, whereas the 82nd "owns" 3-73 Cav, 3rd ID has operational control over them, much like a rental relationship without any money changing hands. The 3rd ID can move the furniture around however they see fit, but eventually, the keys are due back in the drop box.
To that end, Col. Mark Stammer, commander of 1/82, paid a visit in early May to his loaned squadron of cavalry scouts at their home base at Forward Operating Base Sykes, just outside of Tal Afar in Ninewa province, Iraq.
"Thanks to [U.S. Division–North] and Colonel Sexton, we got some helicopters, some great weather, and got around to see all of the troops at their company firebases all throughout Ninewah, from Rabiyah, over Mount Sinjar, down into a brand-new camp outside of a little village called Zumar," said Stammer, a native of South Dakota who was previously deployed with 173rd Airborne Brigade to Afghanistan.
"While we've had the brigade command sergeant major up here a couple times, this was my first opportunity and most likely my only one," he said.
Ninewa province lies on the opposite side of the Jazirah Desert from arid Anbar, and in many ways, it resembles parts of the American West, with green pastures and cattle, irrigation canals brimming with water for crops that cover the open spaces to the foot of barren, hardscrabble mountains. Trees resemble the cedars, pines and water-loving willows from the States. There is birdlife and wild coyote-like jackals, and plenty to eat for sheep and goats.
The cavalry unit has a uniquely complex and challenging mission, according to squadron commander, Lt. Col. Scott Hooper.
"We operate in a supporting role with our Iraqi security force partners, which includes Iraqi army, police, border police, Kurdish Regional Guards Brigade, customs and port of entry security, and oil protection forces," Hooper explained.
Not only do his paratroopers conduct combined border interdiction operations, reconnaissance and surveillance, and combined targeting of threat networks, they also maintain an advise-and-assist role that includes the development and professionalization of their partnered forces.
Lastly, they directly support the efforts of the Western Ninewah Provincial Reconstruction Team, as well as military efforts to improve civil capacity in terms of economic development, governance and Iraqi Rule of Law initiatives.
With their redeployment coming soon, the paratroopers of 3-73 Cav were able to show their home brigade commander what they have accomplished while wearing the All American combat patch.
"I know he's got his own stuff to worry about down there [in Anbar], but it's good to see him up here to show him what we've been doing to make the 82nd proud," said 1st Lt. Kyle Robinson, a platoon leader with Troop A at Firebase Khan-a-Sur, west of FOB Sykes.
Robinson's platoon is one of several that helps man a combined checkpoint, as part of a tri-partite joint venture between Iraqi, Kurdish and U.S. security forces to ensure equal treatment and freedom of movement for all Iraqi citizens.
"We actually have Iraqi police, Iraqi army, Peshmerga (Kurdish military), and starting tomorrow, the emergency response police," said Sgt. Richard McNull, who was pulling guard at the security checkpoint.
Robinson said the small firebase has had many distinguished visitors, including Fox News.
"I think this visit probably means the most to them because he is our brigade commander, and he is someone they can all relate to," said Robinson.
The CCP was only a few weeks old when the troop arrived in February 2010. Initially, his men saw the difference between how the Iraqi army and Peshmerga treated Arabs and Kurds, but now they have established one standard so that everyone is following the same rules, he said.
Ganim Darwish, a master sergeant with the Peshmerga from nearby Kahn As Sur, and Nayf Taalosh, a Yezidi sergeant from Sinjar serving with the Iraqi army, both agree that, since the Americans arrived, the multi-ethnic security team has acted as one unit.
"There is no distinction," said Darwish. "The checkpoint is operated to the letter of the law, and with respect to all people."
Taalosh's children in Sinjar are happy that their father helps to keep the area safe alongside his Kurdish coworkers. He expects little to change anytime soon. "Because we are in control of it, we don't see anything changing when the U.S. forces leave," he said.
At Khan As Sur, tiny Firebase Zumar and Joint Security Site Heider on the Syrian border later that day, Stammer promoted paratroopers, pinned on various awards and handed out coins of excellence to deserving Soldiers. He also answered many questions.
At Zumar, he told the paratroopers of Troop C to expect a summer return to Fort Bragg, N.C., with immediate participation in the Army's reintegration programs, followed by block leave. After that, they could expect classical paratrooper training once again, including forced entry airfield seizures rather than an advise-and-assist curriculum.
At JSS Heider, squadron physician Capt. Daneil Hankes took photos of Stammer pinning an Army Commendation Medal on the lapel of one of his line medics, Pfc. Tristan Murphy of Troop B.
Hankes, whose father was a doctor in the Vietnam War, commended Murphy for his actions in aiding a man wounded by Americans after he put up a fight on the border.
"Murphy took care of him, and he is still alive. He is an outstanding medic, and there is no question in my mind he will be a Dr. Murphy one day," he said.
Hankes, whose job it is also to cover down on the mental health of the troops, said that being posted in such a remote location is actually empowering for the paratroopers.
"My medics have been trained as sort of frontline providers from a mental health standpoint, to triage out these gentlemen if they just need someone to talk to just because perhaps their girlfriend broke up with them; or if they think they might be suicidal or homicidal, they would refer them to me.
"Out here, they're doing a mission that is of extreme importance, and number two, they don't have the command necessarily breathing down their necks," he said. "That is very empowering."
Still, Hankes noted, platoon and troop leaders can feel pressure from the higher-ups in a remote setting.
The job at Heider is a border security mission – to prevent cigarette smuggling thought to finance the insurgency, and to keep the foreign fighters out. Three platoons rotate on the 24/7 mission.
"Because we are not even a mile to Syria, people ask if we have ever received indirect fire, and we haven't," said Hankes. "I think it's been several years since they have here. The folks in Syria know that if we have problems, then we shut down the port of entry," he surmised. "They can't have that. That's their main stream of revenue."
Prior to Heider, Hankes was stationed at another far-flung outpost with Troop C, Camp Korean Village in extreme southwest Anbar near Jordan. Another cavalry troop was stationed at Ubaydi, also on the Syrian border.
"A cavalry squadron is supposed to be spread out, covering a lot of ground," said squadron Command Sgt. Maj. Andrew Swanson. "We're not done moving yet. We'll keep moving until the day we move to Al Asad for redeployment. That's what [the cavalry troops] get paid to do and they do it well."
"The Thunderbolts are representing the devil brigade and the division well," said Hooper. "The phrase, 'Sleep well tonight...the 82nd is on point,' holds true along the Syrian border with Iraq."
At each firebase, Stammer was briefed on the complexity of issues that 3-73 Cav paratroopers deal with on a daily basis and the impact of their actions on the mission. He made notes and compared what was working in Ninewah to Anbar.
On the third and last day, Stammer joined Hooper for a drive into Tal Afar to meet the mayor and police chief inside an Ottoman Empire-era castle on a hill above the town. The mayor was profuse in his praise for Hooper and his paratroopers, according to those who attended.
Before boarding a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter for the ride back to Ramadi, he thanked Hooper for a great tour.
"It was absolutely fantastic to see the 3-73 'Thunderbolt' paratroopers getting after business here in Ninewah," he said. "I won't see you all until Al Asad, and maybe not even until we all get home to Fort Bragg," Stammer told the troops before departing.
One could tell that was a visit they were especially looking forward to; one on American soil.
| Date Taken: | 05.14.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 05.14.2010 10:02 |
| Story ID: | 49660 |
| Location: | CAMP RAMADI, IQ |
| Web Views: | 609 |
| Downloads: | 261 |
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