Courtesy Photo | Capt. Bernard Gardner, commander, Company C, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment,...... read more read more
KHOWST PROVINCE, Afghanistan - As the call to midday prayer echoed through the village of Sheik Amir Kaley, here in eastern Afghanistan, U.S. Army Capt. Bernard Gardner and his troops knew they were close to catching their man.
The commander of Company C, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, was hot on the trail of a bomb-maker from his unit’s most wanted list.
That September afternoon, Gardner and his Afghan partners from 4th Kandak, 2nd Afghan Border Police, set up shop opposite a green and white mosque near the Gorbuz District Center and waited.
It was the first Friday marking the end of Ramadan, and despite the drizzle outside, about 300 worshipers packed the mosque. According to Gardner’s sources, the man they were looking for – known for making and transporting improvised explosive devices in the area – was attending the prayer service inside.
As prayers ended and men exited the mosque, the combined force began holding everyone outside.
"I had his photo," recalled Gardner, from Kinnear, Wyo., combing the crowd for the bomb-maker as his soldiers painstakingly started collecting each man’s biometric data.
The biometric collection process snaps pictures, scans fingerprints and irises while allowing for the input of basic biographical information like name and birth date. Once gathered, the information is transmitted to a centralized database that instantly alerts soldiers if an individual is on terrorist watch lists.
In this case, while the soldiers had an idea of what their target looked like, “hiding” everybody was the surest way of positively identifying the IED-maker.
As afternoon gave way to early evening, curious children swarmed around Gardner and his soldiers.
Troops usually consider the presence of children in Afghanistan a good omen. When kids are around, it is less likely the bad guys will attack for fear of killing innocents and thus facing the community's reprisal. This time, however, was different.
A group of children scuttled close to the soldiers, kicking rocks as they ran, what looked like an older kid, pitched something in their direction.
"Grenade!" yelled U.S. Sgt. 1st Class James Smith, who ducked as the pineapple grenade flew over his shoulder, landing ten feet away where he and three others stood.
"We were all within the kill radius of that grenade," said Smith, from Ridgecrest, Calif., who said the group collectively dove to the ground for cover.
While that action saved their lives, it didn't spare them from injury. Smith suffered four shrapnel wounds; Gardner ten.
"My whole body went numb," remembered Gardner, a West Point graduate who once headed his alma mater's wrestling team.
Though he made several attempts to get up and return fire after being hit, the most he could do was stagger to the side of the road.
"My body went into shock. I passed out and hit the ground."
Meanwhile, pandemonium had broken out among the crowd. They took to running and cramming into nearby shops for cover. As they scattered, the bomb-maker got away. The soldiers had no doubt the bomb maker and his supporters orchestrated the attack as a diversion to make his escape possible.
As the chaos continued, an insurgent climbed onto one of the company's trucks and lobbed a grenade inside the gunner's hatch.
"He slam-dunked the grenade into the turret," said Smith, who, though hemorrhaging from the first attack, managed to shoot the grenade-wielding attacker.
Inside the truck, all that the turret gunner, U.S. Army Pfc. Darrick Jones, saw was a hand drop something near him. Hearing the telltale rattle of a grenade bouncing dangerously close to him, Jones frantically searched for it, but couldn't see where it had fallen.
Detonating inches away, blood streaked down Jones' right arm. He applied a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.
Amazingly, the grenade had gotten stuck on the turret's control box, and did not enter the truck where it could have had lethal impact.
Instinctively, Jones had his back turned to the explosion and his body armor absorbed the brunt of the blast. The bleeding on his arm was the result of several small pieces of shrapnel.
Jones, along with five other soldiers wounded in the grenade attacks, have been nominated for Purple Hearts. The prestigious award recognizes service members injured during combat.
"I really didn't want one," said Jones, a Woodward, Iowa native who had a friend lose a leg during a different attack. "I would be happy going home not losing anything."
Though hospitalized with multiple shrapnel wounds, three days after the attack Gardner was back at work at Combat Outpost Bowri Tana.
"Where I belong is with my men," said Gardner, who keeps pieces of the shrapnel removed from his body in a plastic cup on his office shelf.
Gardner's office is telling of the things that matter the most to him. Above his head hangs a gold and black banner with the word "Ranger" in bold letters. Among the items on Gardner's shelf is the book "They Fought for Each Other," an account of the unit’s 16-month 2007 deployment to Iraq.
Then, as if set apart from everything, is a gold framed photograph of his smiling wife and three-year-old daughter. The picture is stuck to green construction paper with a handwritten note.
"We love you daddy," it reads. "Come back home soon!"
| Date Taken: | 11.14.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 11.14.2011 13:28 |
| Story ID: | 80023 |
| Location: | KHOWST PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 522 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Close call for soldiers tracking bomb maker, by 1LT Tanangachi Mfuni, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
