COP Battle stands up as part of 'surge'

Photo By Spc. Leith Edgar | Soldiers of Company B, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division unload sand bags on Combat Out Post Battle in the Baghdad neighborhood of Al Furat March 18. The troops were deployed as part of Operation Farqh Al Qanoon and are building a COP to operate out of during their deployment.  

03.23.2007

Story by Spc. Leith Edgar 

7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

By Spc. L.B. Edgar,
7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

AL FURAT, Baghdad – Building something out of nothing is part of the mission for the more than 20,000 additional Soldiers participating in Operation Fardh Al Qanoon.

The latest troops to put boots on the streets of Iraq's capital are the infantrymen of the 1st Infantry Division's Company B, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, who are setting up shop in the district of Al Furat.

Since getting Soldiers out into the community is a priority of the latest plan to secure Baghdad, the Soldiers of Company B are building their new home from scratch – Combat Out Post Battle, said Capt. Brian Ducote, the company commander.

"It's primarily where we're going to have our base of operations," said the native of Dunwoody, Ga. "These combat outposts are important because it gets us out with the people where we can get to know them more. It's easier to patrol. You can respond quicker to incidences."

COP Battle will serve as a planning center for coalition forces working to improve security in the local community. Unlike many forward operating bases that tend to remove Soldiers from the reality of Iraq, the COP will allow troops to better understand the area's culture and people, Ducote explained.

Though COP Battle is currently a work in progress and the amenities are near non-existent, the conditions will improve as the structure comes together, Ducote said.

The first priority of the COP is always force protection. Approximately 350 Alaska barriers, which are protective concrete walls, will protect troops from incoming threats, said 1st Sgt. Gerald Cornell, the company first sergeant.

"When we're done we'll have 12-foot walls around the entire (COP) with a couple of entrances," said the native of Moscow, Idaho.

As the COP stands up one concrete barrier at a time, the Soldiers are living in tents, a makeshift motor pool houses their vehicles and an stark tactical operations center is in the works, Cornell said.

"It will be austere at first but every day we're taking steps to improve it. It will really be just like a mini FOB out here," said 1st Lt. Scott Hutchison, the company executive officer who is from Dear Park, Texas. "We're here until the job gets done."

Despite the living conditions, the Soldiers are prepared for the challenges of living in Baghdad outside of the heavily fortified FOBs most Soldiers are accustomed to occupying, Cornell said.

"It's the infantry. That's the nature of the beast. That's what we do," Cornell explained. "They're ready to do what they need to for their country."

• Date Taken: 03.23.2007
• Date Posted: 03.23.2007 09:11
• Story ID: 9583