Monday, June 11, 2007

1-15 Inf. conducts air assault mission, destroys enemy cache

Multi-National Division - Center
Media Release
HQ, MND-Center
Baghdad, Iraq

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

1-15 Inf. conducts air assault mission, destroys enemy cache
By Staff Sgt. Sean Riley
3rd HBCT Public Affairs

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, seized a weapons cache near Al Dur’aya June 4.

The unit conducted an air assault operation into the area to capture insurgents and destroy weapon caches.

“With us moving by air, we were able to get our elements to the objective, and was ideal in this situation,” said Capt. Leo Buehler, Company B, 1-15 Infantry commander. “Because of the objective’s remote location and enemy’s network of early warning observation posts along the limited ground routes into the village, a ground infiltration would have given the enemy more than one hour early notice.”

By dropping from CH-47 Chinook helicopters, Coalition Forces gained the advantage by allowing the enemy only minutes to prepare.

“As a result, the enemy was unable to recover their equipment prior to our arrival on site,” Buehler said.

The mission netted one insurgent cache containing 30-60 mm mortars, seven AK-47 assault rifles, 32 AK-47 magazines, two 60 mm mortar tubes, one set of body armor and one military-style uniform. During the mission, AH-64 Apache attack helicopters engaged and destroyed a truck after receiving small-arms fire.

The cache was destroyed by explosive ordnance personnel at the scene.

1-15 Infantry Soldier reenlists

Multi-National Division - Center
Media Release
HQ, MND-Center
Baghdad, Iraq

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

1-15 Infantry Soldier reenlists
By Sgt. Natalie Rostek
3rd HBCT Public Affairs

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – A Soldier from the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, reenlisted June 3 at Combat Outpost Cleary.

Spc. Andrew Schofield, 22, of Murrayville, Ill., a squad designated marksman for Company B, 1-15 Inf., raised his right hand and promised to serve his country for three more years.

Schofield said he made the decision to reenlist after carefully considering what the Army could do for his Family. He was married less than a year ago and said when he gets back from Operation Iraqi Freedom V he wants to start a Family.

“I wanted to be able to provide for my Family,” Schofield explained. 

Schofield recently reached the end of his initial enlistment, prompting his reenlistment. During Operation Iraqi Freedom III in 2005, Schofield served with the Sledgehammer Brigade at Forward Operating Base Wilson. During that rotation, he was a grenadier for 1-15 Inf.
Schofield said he sees a difference in the units operation between the two deployments.

The 1-15 Inf. currently secures three combat outposts in the areas of Wahida, Salman Pak, and Tuwaitha in the battalion’s area of operation. Schofield believes the unit’s position within the communities they are protecting provides them the advantage to better monitor insurgent activities.

To those who are considering reenlistment, Schofield said, “Think about what would be better for your future and what would be better for your Family.”

Young 1-15 Inf. Soldier in leadership position

Spc. Shawn O’Farrell, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, talks with Sgt. 1st Class Ken Reedze, 36, Lakeview, Oreg., a fire support noncommissioned officer who works with O’Farrell.

Multi-National Division - Center
Media Release
HQ, MND-Center
Baghdad, Iraq

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Young 1-15 Inf. Soldier in leadership position
Story and photos by Sgt. Natalie Rostek
3rd HBCT Public Affairs

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq –At age 17, most Americans teenagers find themselves faced with the difficult decision of finding a direction for their future.  For Shawn O’Farrell that decision was to aid in bettering the future of an entire nation.

In September 2004, in the town of Melbourne Fla., approximately 114 miles north of his home in Palm Beach, O’Farrell raised his right hand and promised himself to the nation by joining the Army. He said his goals were to protect the freedom of his country and his family and to better himself.

“I always planned to join, but not as early as I did,” said O’Farrell, a specialist with 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team. “But I didn’t graduate high school. I wasn’t applying myself. and I was going down the wrong road.”

At the time of his enlistment, O’Farrell needed his mother’s permission to join the Army. The minimum age to join the Army is 17-years-old with parental consent according to Army regulation.

“She was nervous,” O’Farrell said, “especially when they handed her the paperwork allowing me to go into combat.”

Although he wanted to be a combat engineer like his step father, who served in that skill for six years, O’Farrell said the job wasn’t available. He also liked working with computers but a job in communications was also unavailable to him. Finally, after evaluating his choices, O’Farrell enlisted to become a fire support specialist.

O’Farrell was assigned to the 1-15th Inf. Reg., 3rd BCT immediately following basic training and advanced individual training. He has been with “Sledgehammer” for all three of his years of service.

The unit left for Iraq January 2005 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom III, putting O’Farrell approximately 7,000 miles away from his home and his family. He said it was the first time he had ever been away from home for such an extended period of time.

“I felt homesick,” said O’Farrell, who was the youngest 3rd BCT Soldier in Iraq during OIF III. “I was given a hard time about my age. It was jokingly, but it was still a hard time.

New to the brigade and the Army, O’Farrell was given the nickname “Pvt. Joe Snuffy” by one of his fellow Soldiers, Spc. Scott Andrews.

“(Andrews) took me under his wing,” said O’Farrell. “He would stick up for me when people joked about my age and then turn right around and make jokes,” he continued laughing. “We still keep in touch.”

Being young and impressionable and without his mother’s influence, O’Farrell succumbed to peer pressure and picked up a smoking habit.

“One of my (leaders) found out that I started smoking and made me report to him and do 20 push-ups every time I picked up a cigarette,” he said laughing.

On the positive side, O’Farrell said many of his leaders found his young age an advantage. He said, according to them, his mind was fresh and could be easily molded by his superiors. He was also a quick learner.

His first combat experience was beneficial, O’Farrell said. It gave him confidence, maturity and discipline, and he feels it made him a better person.

“The experience was a wake up for me,” he said. “It made me grow up fast, and it made the relationship with my mother stronger. My parents were proud, and it felt good knowing I was doing something for my country.”

Currently, at age 20, O’Farrell is deployed again with 1-15 Inf., in support of OIF V. In addition to his fire support specialist duties, O’Farrell is now a team leader responsible for leading and training the two Soldiers who serve under him.

“It’s difficult because I am younger than the guys that work for me. Sometimes it’s hard for them to respect me,” O’Farrell said.

According to Sgt. 1st Class John Behrends, 40, Victorville, Calif., senior fire support noncommissioned Officer for 1-15 Inf., O’Farrell uses a nontraditional style of leadership when leading and training his Soldiers.

“He leads Soldiers without realizing he’s doing it,” Behrends said. “I love to have him working for me. He has definitely done his part and brings a lot to the team. He has great potential as a leader.”

Although his leaders are pushing for him to attend the promotion board and become a noncommissioned officer, O’Farrell feels he needs more job experience to effectively fulfill the duties of a Sergeant.

“When I am promoted, I want to be more confident that I earned my rank because I know my job,” he explained. “I want my Soldiers to be confident in me.”

O’Farrell, who said he enjoys his job and finds gratification from the Army, does not want to make it a career. He plans to get out of the Army, to move to Canada where his girlfriend lives, and to college to get a computer-related degree.

Until then, O’Farrell said he will continue to gain military occupational skill knowledge to better serve his Soldiers.

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

3rd HBCT Soldiers receive Bronze Stars

Col. Wayne W. Grigsby, Jr., commander of the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, pins the Bronze Star medal to Staff Sgt. Michael Henderson (left image), a section sergeant for Headquarters Troop, 3rd HBCT, of Vidor, Texas, and Pfc. Stephanie McCulley (right image), a combat medic with Headquarters Company, 3rd HBCT, of Uniontown, Penn., during a ceremony June 1, at Forward Operating Base Hammer.

Multi-National Division - Center
Media Release
HQ, MND-Center
Baghdad, Iraq

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

3rd HBCT Soldiers receive Bronze Stars
Story and photos by Spc. Ben Hutto, 3rd HBCT Public Affairs

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – In a ceremony on June 1 at Forward Operating Base Hammer, two Soldiers from the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team were awarded the Bronze Star Medal.

Staff Sgt. Michael Henderson, a section sergeant, Headquarters Troop, 3rd HBCT, of Vidor, Texas, and Pfc. Stephanie McCulley, a combat medic with Headquarters Troop, 3rd HBCT, of Uniontown, Penn., were presented their awards by Col. Wayne W. Grigsby, Jr., commander of 3rd HBCT.

Both Soldiers were recognized for their actions on May 8, when a humvee in their convoy was struck by an improvised explosive device, killing two Soldiers and severely injuring one.  The pair left the safety of their vehicle and rushed to the damaged vehicle to treat the injured Soldier.

“What amazed me was how quickly Henderson and McCulley got to the disabled vehicle,” said Capt. Stephen Hemmann, a platoon leader from St. Louis, Mo. “The smoke hadn’t cleared yet and they were running through the danger area to get to the injured. They had no thought for their own safety and made up their mind to get to that vehicle without worrying about the threat.  Their only concern was their fellow Soldiers.  They didn’t receive Bronze Stars, they definitely earned them. I have no doubt that if they had not done what they did, we would have lost three Soldiers that day. Their actions saved a life.”

Sgt. 1st Class James Mahurin, the platoon sergeant for the awardees, of Modesto, Calif., had high praise for both of his Soldiers.

“There is no one else I can imagine doing Sergeant Henderson’s job,” explained Mahurin. “When he’s out on patrol, he’s “switched on” and definitely knows what he’s doing. He is a well-liked leader among his Soldiers. They follow his orders immediately. I can always count on him.”

Mahurin was as complimentary of McCulley.

“She is a great asset to our team,” he said.  “She operates at a level much higher than her rank would indicate. When things need to get done, she always finds a way. She provides an excellent example for everyone around her.”

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Dog Face Daily

The 3rd Brigade is featured in a few Dog Face Daily editions.

Here are some links to the PDF files:

May 30, 2007

May 29, 2007

May 25, 2007