Photo By Sgt. Benjamin Crilly | PATROL BASE JAMIL, Helmand province, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan - The lead...... read more read more
Subscribe
PATROL BASE JAMIL, Helmand province, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan - On an average, Cpl. Josh C. Ibanez is up by six in the morning, on the trucks by eight and doesn’t get back to Forward Operating Base Jamil until after midnight.
The long hours and ground covered by the Marines of the Mobile Assault Team, Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, enables the company to maintain their operational tempo in Sangin, Afghanistan.
Commonly referred to as Alpha Mobile, the section is a quick reaction force and combat logistics unit for the company. Ibanez, a section leader and driver for Mobile, and his Marines allow the company to quickly move assets and reinforce all of the platoon’s patrol bases.
“Having a mobile section frees the company up and offers us a wider range of capabilities,” said 1st Lt. Terance B. O’Mahoney, the executive officer for Co. A. “It really just expands the opportunities we have to support our guys out there patrolling everyday and doing the fighting.”
As the company’s QRF, Alpha Mobile is already operating within the area and must be ready to respond at any moment to calls from company positions and patrols in trouble.
“As a QRF you can be launched in 5 to 20 minute notice to respond to any contact, incident, disturbance or causality in any area within the company’s battlespace,” said Sgt. Chad D. Frokjer, the convoy commander for Alpha Mobile.
When Ibanez is on the road, he and the other Marines have to keep a keen eye sharply focused on the path to combat the improvised explosive device threat in the area. That threat along with understanding the streets and roads can be empty one day and crowded with local citizens the next. forces Ibanez to plan for the worst when Mobile rolls out.
“It’s always frustrating trying to respond to a casualty and get slowed down by local traffic,” said Ibanez, 24, from Apache Junction, Ariz. “When we are on the roads out here, I am always trying to anticipate and look for a place to turn around in case we have to respond to [something] behind us.”
It is important for the Marines to stay alert when they hit the streets of Sangin, because responding as a QRF is only about five percent of their job, said Frokjer, 27, from Maplewood, Minn. The other big part of their job is to serve as a combat logistics unit to resupply the platoons farther out in the battlespace with amenities like water, food, ammunition and anything else they need. This allows them to support the Marines of the company without having to rely on the battalion for logistical support.
“When the platoons are spread out we can make their lives easier and can de-centralize it from what they have to do,” said Frokjer.
Part of Mobile’s job also includes moving Marines and attached personnel around the battlespace to support various positions, said O’Mahoney, 25, from York, Maine. This means at times they have to drive to other companies within Sangin to pick people up and escort them to their destination to support Company A.
“A lot of times we are responding to the company’s needs and it seems like we are a combat taxi,” said Frokjer, who serves as the convoy commander for Alpha Mobile. “In reality, we take care of the logistics and limit the distractions the platoons don’t have time for with operational tempos and patrols.”
At the end of the day, Ibanez and his Marines are able to go to sleep knowing the following day they will hit the road again and keep Company A rolling through their dedication as the QRF and logistic element for the company.
EDITORS NOTE: 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment is assigned to Regimental Combat Team 8, Task Force Leatherneck, in Southwest Afghanistan. The task force, headed by 2nd Marine Division (Forward), is the ground combat element for Regional Command Southwest and is working in partnership with the Afghan National Security Force and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to conduct counterinsurgency operations. The unit is dedicated to securing the Afghan people, defeating insurgent forces, and enabling ANSF assumption of security responsibilities within its area of operations in order to support the expansion of stability, development and legitimate governance.
| Date Taken: | 05.01.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 05.06.2011 08:18 |
| Story ID: | 69972 |
| Location: | PATROL BASE JAMIL, HELMAND PROVINCE, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF, AF |
| Web Views: | 901 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Mobile Keeps Alpha Rolling, by Sgt Benjamin Crilly, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
