Photo By Maj. Timothy Irish | PATROL BASE BARIOLAI, Helmand province, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan - Seaman...... read more read more
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PATROL BASE BARIOLAI, Helmand province, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan - Counterinsurgency at the squad level is an exhausting task.
For the Marines of 1st Platoon, Company C, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, the patrols in their sector are a daily event that touch the mid day heat no matter the time they depart. Today’s patrol would be no different.
Earlier a patrol from 1st Platoon received fire from multiple insurgents wielding rocket propelled grenades just hours before this patrol departed. The insurgents managed to escape. All of the Marines and Afghan National Civil Order Police on this partnered patrol were aware of the previous events but were cautious to maintain their calm while interacting with the Afghans they encountered.
The patrol lurched through alleyways with high mud brick walls on either side. Half of the compounds and houses along the way are abandoned. Making a connection with the local populace wasn’t as easy as stepping out the front gate of the patrol base and shaking hands. 1st Platoon had to look for them in the high heat of a Sangin afternoon.
Company C operates in an area of Sangin known as “the fishtank.” The area is near the green zone and Route 611 but lacks all of the plush green fields the Helmand River irrigates. The area is known for its shifting populace and the violence of the past. Today’s mission has the patrol looking for weapons caches while building rapport with the local residents.
The patrol came down a sloping hill and noticed a man running over to the backside of a hill in the distance so he could observe the Marines more discreetly. His movements were not fast enough and the Marines got “eyes on.” Just then a man who had been patronizing a small shop turned and started to flee. Calls of “delta raashee,” or translated as “come here”, were issued out.
“He always runs away when he sees Marines come,” said 2nd Lt. Keaton Gleason the 1st Platoon commander. “This time he ran right into the patrol.”
Lance Cpl Andrew Forward , a 19 year-old riflemen from Red Bluff, Calif.,uses the H.I.D.E.S. system to gather the man’s biometric information and issue him an identification card while another Marine tests the man for explosive residue. He came up clean on all the tests. All of the Marines were satisfied that the man had not fired an RPG at the previous patrol.
“There’s no such thing as a presence patrol they are security patrols,” said Gleason a native of Lititz, Pa. “In reality your presence prevents gun running, harassment of the patrol base and lets locals know you are here.”
All throughout the patrol, greetings of “aslaamo aleykam” were intermixed with “come to Bariolai for the shura on Wednesday.”
The weekly shuras held on Patrol Base Bariolai are part of an effort to increase local ties to district governance. It is a forum for local residents to sit down with Afghan National Civil Order Police and Marines to address problems and discuss issues.
The patrol presses forward to a small farm. ANCOP police enter the house and begin a search while the Marines in the courtyard talk to the family.
The ANCOP emerge from their search of the house and begin to laugh with the old man who owns it. Everyone present relaxes as the dialogue begins to unfold. A small boy with scars on his face pushes out to see the squad’s corpsmen.
“The lieutenant brought up that he had a scar from a previous injury,” said Seaman Justin Schneider the squad’s corpsman. “As soon as I told him I was a doctor he pointed at his throat.”
In cases where someone has something I can’t treat I’ll tell them about the shura on the PB, said Schneider a 2009 graduate of Kapolei High School and native of Kapolei, Hawaii.
“People at the shura will recognize me and come up. It will be a father or cousin that tells me and I’ll help them out.”
Two more houses are searched each time with the same results. ANCOP go in, Marines talk to the homeowners, ANCOP come out and the patrol moves on.
Finally the patrol turns back to base. It is no secret that the men who drive by on motorcycles are watching its progress. The knowledge of a quick walk back to base does not bring a sigh of relief. The patrol is not over until after the debrief.
Back at the patrol base the squad gathers around a map table to discuss what the Marines saw. Another day in the counterinsurgency fight is done.
| Date Taken: | 05.22.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 05.27.2011 07:00 |
| Story ID: | 71186 |
| Location: | PATROL BASE BARIOLAI, HELMAND PROVINCE, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF, AF |
| Web Views: | 1,680 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
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