Photo By Sgt. Michael Alberts | Soldiers of the Wyoming Army National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 300th Field Artillery...... read more read more
Subscribe
By Spc. Mike Alberts
3rd Brigade Combat Team,
25th Infantry Division Public Affairs
KIRKUK, Iraq - When they deployed a year ago, their commander challenged his Soldiers to do two things, to make the deployment "worth it" by doing their very best and to take care of each other. By all accounts, mission accomplished.
One hundred and forty-nine Soldiers of the Wyoming Army National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 300th Field Artillery Regiment, attached to the 25th Infantry Division's 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, cased their regimental colors symbolizing mission completion during a transfer of authority ceremony at Forward Operating Base Warrior, Kirkuk, Iraq, March 19.
The "Powder River Cowboys," a nickname derived from the Powder River that runs across a large portion of their state, are headquartered in Sheridan, Wyo., yet draw Soldiers from all over the state. "To drive to all eight armories in our battalion would require driving about 1,100 miles," said Maj. Greg Phipps, unit commander, 2-300th. Phipps is a native of Sheridan Wyo., an active guard reserve Soldier, and a father of three children, ages 11, nine and eight.
"We drew Soldiers from basically the northern half of Wyoming, but as we ramped up and needed specific [military occupational specialties] we asked for volunteers," said Phipps. "So, actually, our draw is from the entire state of Wyoming and even as far as western Nebraska and Utah," he said.
According to Phipps, his unit was an "effects enhancer" for 3IBCT while in the Kirkuk Province. During their tenure, Phipps' Soldiers were involved in a variety of missions from transporting detainees to working with Iraqi Police. As Phipps explained, however, their biggest impact was in their work on police transition teams (PTT).
"Basically, we were here to partner with Iraqi police in order to mentor and develop their capabilities," said Phipps. "We also were involved in ensuring that the police ran investigations that were legally sufficient to make it through their system. Our goal really was to assist 'professionalizing' the police force so that their populace would believe in the police and [enjoy] their newfound freedom with order and dignity."
To accomplish their [PTT] mission, the 2-300th utilized a total of three 41 Soldier platoons and one headquarters platoon of roughly 29 Soldiers. Each platoon had a small headquarters element and three line squads. "[This way] we had the ability to sustain three PTT teams for our police mission with one platoon, one squad in each platoon being one PTT team."
The Powder River Cowboys engaged over 40 Iraqi police stations across three provinces, trained and mentored more than 8,000 Iraqi police at the provincial, district and local station level, and brought 17 Iraqi police stations from non-functioning levels to much higher readiness levels.
"For the most part, the police that we were involved with went out there and did their jobs," said Capt. Dean Hunhoff, executive officer, 2-300th, and a native of Cheyenne, Wyo. "I admire them. It's a war zone and they get up everyday, put their uniform on, go to work, get shot at, get blown up, their families are threatened, and yet they do it day-in and day-out," said Hunhoff. "I tell my family and that I would fight and die for these guys. They have become great brothers."
All told, 2-300th Soldiers conducted over 2,232 combat patrols, over 110 joint Iraqi and coalition force missions and transported over 5,700 detainees. Their Soldiers earned 16 Bronze Star Medals, 125 Army Commendation Medals, 82 Combat Action Badges and three Purple Heart Medals.
Although the numbers certainly tell part of the story, perhaps the truest measure of the unit's success is in comments from those with whom they worked.
"The Cowboys were a great asset to the mission," said Mr. Richard Castrati, international police liaison officer. Castrati has over 25 years of law enforcement experience and now works as an IPLO in northern Iraq. IPLOs are a collection of subject matter experts, all current or retired police officers, who volunteered to come to Iraq to mentor and train Iraqi police. Phipps unit worked closely with several IPLOs.
"The Powder River guys are the first military unit that has come in here and said, 'We are not going to make them Americans.' They treated them as [friends] and didn't bully the Iraqi's around and that's one of the reasons they were so successful," said Castrati. "Their leaving is a bitter sweet time for me. Just great guys, great job," he emphasized.
Castrati's boss, Mr. Roy McCalister, a former warrant officer and police detective and now the IPLO police training deputy-in-charge, was similarly impressed with the Wyoming unit.
"Major Phipps during his tenure helped refine relationships between the police liaison officers and military police training teams in the Kirkuk Province," said McCalister. "He instantly became an advocate and critical player in the successful turnaround of movement teams within the province to the various provincial, district and local level Iraqi police stations," he continued. "His efforts [and the efforts of all his Soldiers] have developed a molded model which will be embedded in the history of the Kirkuk Provincial Police."
| Date Taken: | 03.26.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 04.02.2007 10:52 |
| Story ID: | 9715 |
| Location: | KIRKUK, IQ |
| Web Views: | 713 |
| Downloads: | 538 |
This work, Wyoming Army National Guard redeploys and returns home after a year in Iraq, by SGT Michael Alberts, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
