Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Mark Wojciechowski | Headhunters from HHB 1/10th Field Artillery 3rd Infantry Division(back left to right)...... read more read more
Staff Sgt. Mark Wojciechowski
133rd MPAD
BAQUBAH, IRAQ--Even though the "Head Hunters" are wrapping up their year long tour and headed home for Ft. Benning, Ga., these men have never become complacent.
The Headquarters, Headquarters Battery, 1-10th Field Artillery, 3rd Infantry Division's mission is to seek out suspicious activities and neutralize any threats, so that the citizens of the surrounding area of Baqubah may be safe as the Iraqi Security forces take over and their democracy grows.
The insurgency knows where all the checkpoints are so they know where not to go when transporting illegal weapons and explosives.
A few weeks ago, the "Head Hunters" discovered a vehicle borne improvised explosive device and preemptively disrupted the insurgents plans to use it on the growing Iraqi Security Forces.
On this particular day the group was out on patrol randomly checking vehicles at a hasty check point when Spc. Jeffery Hartley, a Naches, Texas native, noticed a vehicle turning around before it approached the checkpoint. Sgt. James Gatley, a native of Fayetteville, N.C., immediately began to pursue the vehicle. When all measures failed to stop the vehicle, Gatley made the decision to bump the suspect's vehicle off the road.
While questioning the driver through an interpreter, the suspected insurgent said he did not know to whom the vehicle belonged. The suspect also said that the vehicle was to be a VBIED and he was transporting it to location where explosives were to be implaced in it. This explained the toggle switch found mounted on the dashboard and coaxial cable running into the trunk area.
Command Sgt. Maj. William Doherty, Boston, Mass. native, said, "As soon as they see us and turn around that is usually a pretty good indicator that they are bad."
Checking out suspicious vehicles has been their business and they have been successful in their finds.
On that very same day, the unit found the VBIED to be, another vehicle with three insurgents tried to elude a checkpoint in a different area of the city.
The vehicle fled into a residential neighborhood, where it spun out and two of the insurgents ran. Doherty took the lead on foot to catch one of the men. The other insurgent escaped.
As Doherty jumped a wall, he surprised the insurgent on the other side and wrestled him to the ground. At this time, the remaining suspect in the vehicle produced an AK-47 and attempted to engage the soldiers, whom upon seeing this reacted with deadly force.
While searching the vehicle, the Soldiers found a small cache of weapons within reach of the passengers.
As Doherty drug the insurgent back to the HUMVEES in front of the house where there was more security, Spc. Patrick Morgia, a Watertown, N.Y. native, noticed that the insurgent had a white belt packed with explosives under his windbreaker and was attempting to detonate it as he was being detained.
Doherty then assisted in flex cuffing the suspect and leaving him on the ground at a safe distance until the Explosive Ordinance Disposal team arrived to disarm the insurgent.
The Soldiers of HHB 1-10 Field Artillery have worked together all year and have proved highly effective at their trade by capturing insurgents and finding caches with countless mortar rounds and materials used to make improvised explosive devices.
First Sgt. Thomas Dale, a Sanford, Fla. native, said the Soldiers in his team are not primarily infantrymen. They are composed of mechanics, fire support specialists, communications specialists, a unit armorer, medics, and surveyors. "We are still a very cohesive unit and effective against the insurgents," said Dale.
"We have had a very eventful year in a unit that is not really supposed to have [one] and all the Soldiers deserve to go home and be proud of their accomplishments," said Doherty.
| Date Taken: | 01.09.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 01.09.2006 10:49 |
| Story ID: | 5024 |
| Location: | BAQUBAH, IQ |
| Web Views: | 320 |
| Downloads: | 62 |
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