Rakkasans Revive Patrols to Re-establish Security in Local Towns

Photo By Staff Sgt. Russell Klika | Spc. Brian Stubbs of Apache Troop, 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, provides security for his commander while on a routine presence patrol in Sadr City, Iraq.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

05.02.2006

Courtesy Story

133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika
133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

BAGHDAD, Iraq (April 30, 2006) - Two towns located near Baghdad are again being patrolled after a four-month absence of Coalition Forces.

Squaretown and Triangletown, named for their shape on the map, are a spill-over from nearby Sadr City, close to Baghdad. Apache Troop of the 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division stationed at Forward Operating Base Rustimayah have resumed patrolling the area due to a recent increase in insurgent activities.

The patrols present convoy drivers with unique challenges, rolling along roads riddled with refuse. On this particular day the rains have come, creating window-high levels of waste that the humvees slide through - sideways. As Soldiers exit the vehicles, a swirling stream of sewage surrounds their boots.

For an added obstacle, the overwhelming stench of rain-soaked-sewage, trash, and anything else the residents of Square and Triangle towns have decided they don't want threatens to nauseate the strongest of stomachs. Apache, however, is used to all this. They patrol these streets for up to 12 hours a day, trying to restore a sense of security for the residents.

"What we are trying to do out here is to make friends, to let them know that we are not the enemy," said Apache Troop 1st. Sgt Arthur Abiera. "The biggest problem we have when patrolling the streets is the kids throwing rocks at us while on the ground or driving by them."

An alert Soldier spots a child waving, who then bends down to pick up a rock. The Soldier, still on his toes, yells at the child and the incident is averted. Quite often, this is not the case; the child throwing the rock is successful, breaking a window or hitting a Soldier.

"I think they are just kids having fun," said Cpl. Jared Jenkins, a mortar platoon squad-leader. "But when it comes to someone in our patrol getting hurt, the fun stops."

As the Soldiers provide security for Alpha Troop's commander, Capt. Douglas Laxson, who is talking to local leaders, a brick whizzes past the gunner of a humvee. Abiera springs into action, assembling a team to search for the culprit. The group makes it abundantly clear to each resident in the city block that this behavior is unacceptable. Despite their extensive search, the Soldiers head back to their vehicles empty handed.

The group's return draws a crowd and Laxson summons several elders to his location. He raises a brick and, through his interpreter, he informs the elders that if the rock throwing doesn't stop he'll be forced to take other measures. He punctuates this by throwing down the brick.

As the Soldiers move on, another child is spotted launching a rock and the chase is on. This time the culprit is captured, brought to the humvee, and given a lecture, stern enough to break the language barrier.

Abiera says they will continue to apprehend the children, treating them as their own. He hopes eventually the kids will understand that this behavior has got to stop so that he and his troops can focus more time and energy on the bigger threat, maintaining security for the citizens of the towns.

• Date Taken: 05.02.2006
• Date Posted: 05.02.2006 12:27
• Story ID: 6231
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ