Friday, April 04, 2008

Fire Station Opens In Salman Park

Story by Sgt. Natalie Rostek, 3rd HBCT, 3rd Inf. Div. PAO

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq - A fire station opened in Salman
Pak April 2, the only one of its kind in the entire southern area of the
Mada’in Qada, home to approximately 1.2 million citizens.

Leaders of the Mada’in Qada and the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team
attended the grand opening of the station.

The project began six months ago, said Col. Ryan J. Kuhn, from Clarks, Neb., deputy commanding officer of the 3rd HBCT.

“This shows how we can work together with the Iraqi Security Forces and
the Government of Iraq to put a great facility into a town that has been
cut off since 2005,“ Kuhn said.

In addition to providing fire trucks and equipment to the station, Kuhn
said, the GoI has also provided 80 firefighters to work full-time in the
facility.

“All we had to do was work with the Government of Iraq to build the
facility,“ he said.

“They are going to man it and equip it. It’s very
significant to this fire department. We are very happy to assist and be
part of it.“

Although not trained firefighters yet, Kuhn said the recruits will
attend a three-month course at a training academy in Baghdad.

Emergency calls are routed through the joint security station located
near the fire station in Salman Pak, Kuhn said.

The JSS is manned bypolice officers, government officials, emergency services and Coalition forces.

“We all work together to ensure the good citizens are provided for,“
Kuhn said.

“This is just a huge step in the right direction. There is
security here because of the Iraqis.

They have said, ‘Enough with the violence. We want to get back to what we need to be doing and that is taking care of our families and providing for all the good people.‘“

The 3rd HBCT, 3rd Infantry Division, from Fort Benning, Ga., has been
deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since March 2007.

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

TEST ENTRY - GulfEast

TEST ENTRY

TEST ENTRY

Monday, January 05, 2009

Local Army General Witnessed Pearl Harbor Attacks

COLUMBUS, GA—On December 7, 1941, young William Caldwell experienced a moment he will never forget.

“We heard these tremendous explosions. We saw virtually nothing from where we stood until the aircraft came over,” he said.

Caldwell was stationed in Hawaii with his family. His father, William Caldwell Jr. was a colonel during World War II.

“On that morning I was awakened, I was awake already and up and dressed at 7:55 a.m. when the first fighters came over our house strafing the quadrangles where the soldiers live,” he said.

Caldwell was born in Fort Moultrie, South Carolina in 1925. He comes from a long line of soldiers. Not only was his father a soldier, his grandfather fought for the Union Army in the Civil War.

“My father was in the Army and that’s all I ever knew and I just figured I’d go into the Army whenever I got older,” he said.

One of Caldwell’s childhood dreams was to attend West Point, but he didn’t think he could get in, so he decided he wanted to enlist in the Marine Corps.

“When the telegram came telling my family and me that I was accepted into West Point and I was to report there in two days or three days, so I immediately caught a train out of El Paso and went to West Point,” he said.

Caldwell was part of the first American unit to deploy to Korea in 1950. Almost 2,000 of his fellow soldiers lost their lives in that war. It’s something that bothers him to this day.

“When you have a job to do you can’t stop to think about all the carnage that’s going about you. You have to just keep moving on. It’s not until after the fact in my case that you reflect back,” he said.

Caldwell spent much of the 1950s and 1960s overseas. He also fought in the Vietnam War.

He was promoted to brigadier general in 1968 and retired as a three star general at Fort Sam Houston. During his early days he spent time at Fort Benning, but never came back.

“Never was assigned back. I always wanted to come back to Fort Benning and live in one of those big houses on the golf course and that never happened,” he said.

Following his retirement, Caldwell and his family moved to Columbus, Georgia. It was his wife’s hometown.

Caldwell has five children. One of them is Lieutenant General William Caldwell IV. He is the commanding general of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

“I think that my legacy and the things I’m most happy with are my children and so they’re really my legacy. Every one of them as far as I’m concerned are outstanding,” he said.

Though his own kids are grown and live across the United States, the young kids he looks after now are the soldiers, and he says he admires them.

“They’re eager to do well and for that reason I just say that this Army that we have is unsurpassed in the world, “he said.

Years down the road, when someone mentions his name, he says he wants people to remember one important thing about him.

“I had a feeling and compassion and empathy with people who served under me and I was able to gather smart and capable people around me they’re the ones who really are to get any credit for what I did,” he said.

Caldwell has been living in Columbus since 1980. Tudy, his wife of 32 years passed away at the age of 54 in 1981. He’s since remarried and currently has 24 grandchildren.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

3rd HBCT Honors Troop B, 3-1st Cav. Regt

Col. Wayne W. Grigsby, Jr., from Prince George’s County, Md., commander of the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, praises the Soldiers of Troop B, 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, for their performance during the unit’s current deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, at Combat Outpost Salie, April 22. “You have done everything we have asked of you in a professional manner,” said Grigsby. Troop B, currently attached to the 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery, was awarded a framed certificate of appreciation by Grigsby after he spoke with them.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Iraqi Ministry of Tourism Visits Salman Pak

Sgt. Richard Ray, from Fayetteville, N.C., Company C, 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, provides security at the Arch of Cfesiphon in Salman Pak, Iraq, during a visit by the Iraqi Ministry of Tourism, April 15.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Government Of Iraq Leaders Meet with Mada’in Qada Officials

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – Key Iraqi governmental officials from Baghdad met with tribal and civic leaders of the Mada’in Qada during the Narhwan Development Conference held at a health clinic there, April 12.

An assistant to the governor of Baghdad; the director general of agriculture; the Mada’in Qada director of education; the director general of rural planning; and the mayor of the Mada’in Qada talked with local leaders about improving essential services in the area.

“A lot of coordination went into planning this meeting by the Narhwan council,” said Capt. Josh Beard, from Opelika, Ala., the civil military operations officer for 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery.

“They set this opportunity up and both groups acted on it. The representatives sent up a list of concerns to the proper officials ahead of time, so they could be prepared to discuss the issues.”

Beard explained that the conference was crucial for Narhwan residents.

“The lack of essential services has caused a lot of frustration here,” he said. “The officials from Baghdad did a good job of listening and explaining what is happening on their side. Being able to discuss things face to face cleared up a lot of issues.”

Beard said the meeting allowed officials to see the progress Narhwan has made in the last year.

“This was a good opportunity for the people of Narhwan to show the people from Baghdad where the money the Government of Iraq has provided has gone,” he said.

“The officials could actually see the projects that have improved the area. Of course, there are still areas that need improvement, but Narhwan has come a long way from where it was a year ago.”

The area’s stability is a key reason that Maj. James Carlisle, from West Palm Beach, Fla., the civil affairs officer for 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, believes the GoI will invest more in the region.

“Select areas of Baghdad are seeing an increase in violence,” he said. “The leadership in Narhwan has kept violence away from this area. The provincial-level leaders got to see that today. I believe they know they can afford to invest more in the area to reinforce the success of the area.”

Beard agrees with Carlisle’s assessment and believes that the area’s security will help lead to more meetings between the two groups.

“This meeting was an enormous step in the right direction,” he said. “It is great that officials were willing to come out here today. I think that them being able to see the security situation here will make them more willing to continue dialogue in the future and continue to come back.”

The 1-10 FA is assigned to the 3rd HBCT, 3rd Infantry Division, from Fort Benning, Ga., and has been deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since March 2007.

Sunday, February 03, 2008

1-15 Inf. Regt. clear routes near Al Duraiya

By Spc. Ben Hutto, 3rd HBCT, 3rd Inf. Div. PAO
Multi-National Division – Center PAO

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment conducted a two-day joint operation with the 1st Brigade, 1st National Police Division to set up Concerned Local Citizen checkpoints, and disrupt insurgent networks operating near Al Duraiya, a small village near Salman Pak, Jan. 28 and 29.
During the operation, 1-15th Inf. Regt. found seven improvised explosive devices and a weapons cache.
Soldiers from the 789th Ordnance Company (EOD), from Ft. Benning, Ga., secured the cache and transported it to another site for disposal.
The cache contained 10 hand grenades, 260 machine gun rounds, 150 rounds of small arms ammunition, 50 high explosive rounds, a can of homemade explosives, a Russian air force bomb converted into an IED and the base of an explosive formed projectile.
First Lt. Ross Pixler, from Phoenix, Ariz., a platoon leader in Company A, 1-15 Inf. Regt., said the operation was meeting its objective.
“We have been pushing insurgents out of the area and securing Salman Pak,” Pixler said. “So far, we have been very successful and hopefully it will continue to be that way.”
The Concerned Local Citizens have been instrumental in helping find insurgents and weapons caches by providing information and monitoring roadside checkpoints.
“I joined with them to rescue my neighborhood because it had been attacked by terrorists,” said a member of the CLCs through an interpreter. “At first, they (the insurgents) said what they were doing was jihad, but then they acted like insurgents. That is why we put our trust in God. Our religion says that if we ask for peace, we will go in peace.”
Pixler said most CLCs join with similar hopes of helping secure their neighborhoods.
“The fact that they are willing to sign up and get their picture and finger prints taken shows they are going down the right path and they are willing to work with us,” Pixler said.
Registration is a minor inconvenience for those who sign up.
“If some people don’t want peace, then you need to find the people who do,” said the CLC. “You must take care of your neighborhood and fight against those who want harm against it.”
The 1-15th Inf. Regt is assigned to the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, from Fort Benning, Ga., and has been deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since March 2007.

1-15 Inf. Regt. aids in market improvement

Story by Sgt. Natalie Rostek, 3rd HBCT, 3rd Inf. Div. PAO

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – Leaders of the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment visited a Salman Pak market Jan. 30 to distribute approximately $15,000 in micro grants to small business owners.
Lt. Col. Jack Marr, from Minneapolis, commander of 1-15th Inf. Regt., visited 10 small businesses to distribute micro grants to the shop owners. Businesses included an electronic maintenance shop, a barber shop, a sweets shop, a photo shop, a grocery store, a tire repair store, a cement shop, a cell phone store and two restaurants.
According to Maj. John Wolfe, from Scottsboro, Ala., a team leader from Company A, 489th Civil Affairs Battalion, a reserve unit from Knoxville, Tenn., the idea is to model the stores after a strip mall that might be seen in the United States. 
Wolfe said the micro grants will be used by the shop owners to renovate the inside of their stores while 1-15 Inf. Regt. leaders and the 489th CA team will head projects to refurbish the market’s exterior.
Wolfe says leaders are planning to paint the buildings, pave the street and install street lights.
“We are focusing our efforts to revitalize the center,” Wolfe said.
The market is located directly across from Salman Pak’s new Joint Security Station, and in close proximity to a new sanitation building and a fire station currently under construction. The location is perfect for a thriving economy, Wolfe said.
Wolfe believes the project will strengthen the relationship between Coalition Forces and Salman Pak residents.
“It shows we are here to help the populace and improve the economy,” he said. “Of course we will help clear out the people who cause problems but we are here to help bring the economy back to normal.”
The 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment is assigned to the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Benning, Ga., and has been deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since March 2007.

1-15 Inf. Regt. clear routes near Al Duraiya

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment conducted a two day joint operation with the 1st Brigade, 1st National Police Division to set up Concerned Local Citizen checkpoints and disrupt insurgent networks operating near Al Duraiya, a small village near Salman Pak, Jan. 28 and 29.
During the operation, 1-15th Inf. Regt. found seven improvised explosive devices and a weapons cache.
Soldiers from the 789th Ordnance Company (EOD), from Ft. Benning, Ga., secured the cache and transported it to another site for disposal.
The cache contained 10 hand grenades, 260 machine gun rounds, 150 rounds of small arms ammunition, 50 high explosive rounds, a can of homemade explosives, a Russian air force bomb converted into an IED and the base of an explosive formed projectile.
First Lt. Ross Pixler, from Phoenix, Ariz., a platoon leader in Company A, 1-15 Inf. Regt., said the operation was meeting its objective.
“We have been pushing insurgents out of the area and securing Salman Pak,” Pixler said. “So far, we have been very successful and hopefully it will continue to be that way.”
The Concerned Local Citizens have been instrumental in helping find insurgents and weapons caches by providing information and monitoring roadside checkpoints.
“I joined with them to rescue my neighborhood because it had been attacked by terrorists,” said a member of the CLCs through an interpreter. “At first, they (the insurgents) said what they were doing was jihad, but then they acted like insurgents. That is why we put our trust in God. Our religion says that if we ask for peace, we will go in peace.”
Pixler said most CLCs join with similar hopes of helping secure their neighborhoods.
“The fact that they are willing to sign up and get their picture and finger prints taken shows they are going down the right path and they are willing to work with us,” Pixler said.
Registration is a minor inconvenience for those who sign up.
“If some people don’t want peace then you need to find the people who do,” said the CLC. “You must take care of your neighborhood and fight against those who want harm against it.”
The 1-15th Inf. Regt is assigned to the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, from Fort Benning, Ga., and has been deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since March 2007.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Concerned Local Citizens work to rid their areas of IEDs

By Spc. Ben Hutto, 3rd HBCT, 3rd Inf. Div. PAO

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – Concerned Local Citizens in Sabbah Nissan, a village southeast of Baghdad, led Soldiers from Battery A, 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery to a weapons cache near the group’s headquarters Jan. 15.
Soldiers from the 789th Ordnance Company (EOD), from Ft. Benning, Ga., were called out to destroy the munitions along with remnants of an earlier cache turned in by the CLCs.
Since last November, CLCs frequently take the lead in uncovering insurgent caches in the areas around FOB Hammer and reporting them to Battery A for disposal.
“It’s great to see the citizens of Iraq stepping up and taking charge,” said 1st Sgt. Michael Parker, from Geriee, Ind., first sergeant of Battery A.
The effectiveness of the CLCs in Sabbah Nissan has allowed Battery A more opportunities to provide water, food and school supplies to the 11 villages that the group represents and protects.
The cooperation between CLCs and Battery A is one of the reasons the area around FOB Hammer is secure, said Capt. Chas Cannon, from Moultrie, Ga., commander of Battery A.
“The Concerned Local Citizens provide us the ability to rid the roads of IEDs,” Cannon said. “The Concerned Local Citizens have expert knowledge on their neighborhoods and have prevented munitions from falling into the hands of extremist.”
The 1-10th FA is assigned to the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, from Fort Benning, Ga., and has been deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since March 2007.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

MI Company bids farewell to outgoing commander

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – Soldiers from Company A, 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, bid farewell to their outgoing company commander in a ceremony Jan. 19 at Forward Operating Base Hammer.
Capt. Lee Gerber, from Miami, Fla., passed the company guidon to Capt. Joan Hollein after serving 20 months as commander of Company A.
Before the ceremony, Col. Wayne W. Grigsby, Jr., from Prince George’s County, Md., commander of the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, spoke to Gerber and his company.
“Capt. Gerber established this company and he did an exceptional job,” Grigsby said. “This is a quiet and humble organization and you are doing a great job. Capt. Gerber gets a pat on the back for doing an outstanding job and because of what you as a company have done.”
During his tenure, Gerber led his company through the National Training Center rotation in Fort Irwin, Calif. He also deployed his troops and conducted combat operations during Operation Iraqi Freedom V.
“I have truly learned something everyday from the outstanding Soldiers and noncommissioned officers of Alpha Company,” Gerber said. “I would like to believe that the company is better now than when I took command.
Prior to taking command of the company, Gerber spent 27 months as the intelligence officer for 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, during which time he deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom III.
Gerber’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Air Assault Badge.

-more-
Although Gerber is leaving Company A to serve with the Georgian Army Liaison team at Combat Outpost Cleary, his wife Melissa will continue her service as the Company A, 3rd BSTB Family Readiness Group leader until the 3rd HBCT redeploys to Fort Benning, Ga.
During the ceremony, Lt. Col. Todd Ratliff, Holland, Ohio, commander of the 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, gave a speech wishing well to the outgoing commander and welcoming the incoming.
“Even though she has been with the brigade less than two months, Capt. Hollian is a perfect fit for this company,” Ratliff said. “Alpha Company, I will tell you that your new commander is up for the challenge of day-to-day operations here in Iraq as well as on Kelley Hill. Here is an officer that will continue to set and achieve the highest standards. Joan, I am delighted to have you on board and a part of the Buffalo battalion.”
The 3rd BSTB is assigned to the 3rd HBCT, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga., and has been deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since March 2007.

3-1 Cav. Regt. medics help heal communities

By Spc. Ben Hutto, 3rd HBCT, 3rd Inf. Div. PAO

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – Ahmed’s whole body shook as Capt. Sayed Ali, from Long Island, N.Y., the surgeon assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, examined him. Ahmed, a 24-year-old cab driver, was driving his cab when an insurgent roadside bomb destroyed his vehicle and left him injured, forcing his father to bring him to Patrol Base Assassin for help.
Ali asked the cab driver to perform a series of movements to determine the severity of his injuries. As the young man strained, his father and the medics of Troop A looked on. Obviously in pain, Ahmed weakly strained to push his head against Ali’s palm.
Ali asked his medics to prepare medication for Ahmed to take home and gave the young man a new cane for better support.
Consultations like these, between Ali and local citizens living around Patrol Base Assassin, are frequent. Medics working for Ali estimate he sees one or two local citizens at the patrol base aid station every day.
“We’ve done everything from treating a common cold to amputated limb rehabilitation,” said Spc. Clifford Overton, from Nashville, Tenn., a combat medic in Troop A. “In many cases, there is only so much we can do because of our supplies here, but we do what we can. The people here need more quality doctors. A lot of patients come to us because they have no other options. They look to us for hope.”
Overton explained that many of the aid station’s patients come because they have no money, they trust that American doctors have more expertise or they have been treated by local doctors with little success.
Whatever the reason, Ali and his medics never turn anyone away.
“Captain Ali is awesome,” said Spc. Rafik Brooks, Jr., from Keysport, Pa., a combat medic in Troop A. “His morals are so high that he sees everyone that comes. He will schedule appointments with people outside. He takes referrals from Civil Affairs. He finds people at our medops (medical operations) and has them come back here for follow-ups.”
Although many at the patrol base believe Ali goes out of his way to help the local populace, he doesn’t view his actions as anything special.
“I don’t like it or dislike doing it,” Ali said. “My main priority is to get all of these guys (Troop A Soldiers) back to their families. I can’t tell them not to go out or keep them here at the base, but if I can indirectly protect them from an IED (improvised explosive device) or a VBIED (vehicle borne improvised explosive device), it’s a good thing.”
Overton agrees with Ali.
“One act of kindness can save a world of hurt when it comes to IEDs and things like that,” he said. “An act of kindness can show the people here that we are here to help and prompt them to report things like IEDs. What we are doing here has a big effect on what’s going on out there.”
Ali said Troop A has been receptive to the needs of the people around them since their arrival.
“I think from day one we were open to people coming here,” Ali said. “People here were initially scared of an American patrol base but, as you can see, it has gotten better as word has gotten out. People are now showing up without me having to ask them to come.”
Ali’s willingness and Patrol Base Assassin’s location near the Four Corners market area make it easier for Iraqis to come see him.
“The tactical position of the patrol base is a big factor,” Brooks said. “Everyone knows where we are and that we are reaching out to help them.”
Brooks acknowledges that many of the patients have unreasonable expectations when they arrive.
“A lot of them get a reality check when they come here,” he said. “They see what medicine should be like rather than what a lot of them place emphasis on. The people here place a lot of value on creams and salves and there are a lot of conditions where that isn’t applicable.”
Brooks also said that his station is limited as far as supplies, so many medical treatments that people need can not be provided at the clinic.
Ali uses a web of contacts to help alleviate the constraints of the clinic. He works with surgeons, a civilian prosthetic specialist, a physical therapist with the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, a hearing aide specialist and a handful of Iraqi doctors throughout Iraq to try and help his patients receive the best treatment for their conditions.
“It has taken me six months to build this network,” he said. “It has grown as needs have arisen. I really credit Major Majerske (Maj. Cynthia Majerske, the 3rd HBCT’s surgeon) for everything. Every project I’ve run by her, she’s helped and not shut it down. The support from the top has been great.”
Ali is also quick to point out that his medics deserve the lion’s share of the credit for the good work that is happening.
“I’ve told every general that has visited here that I’m just the face of this operation,” he said. “The medics do all the work. They run the physical therapy sessions. They put in the IVs and chest tubes. They go out on the patrols and bring a lot of situations to my attention. Out here, it’s a Soldier’s life. I think they have always outdone themselves. They are constantly training and learning on top of all of their other responsibilities.”
The medics are proud of their accomplishments.
“It’s been the experience of a lifetime,” Overton said. “Being in a line unit is different. There is a huge difference between going out every day and being in an aide station behind walls. We can explain it to people all day, but only those of us that have been out here will understand everything we’ve done. It has been a real learning experience. It will be something I’ll always be proud of.”
Even though the experience can’t fully be put into words, Overton explained working with the people of Iraq has been a special experience for him.
“When you are working on an American casualty you feel a lot of pain and anger,” he said. “When you do something, like helping the people here, it makes you feel good. Our job is to help casualties of war, not just the American Soldier. We aren’t the only victims of this war. There are a lot of innocent bystanders.”
Ali believes the Soldiers he works with are outstanding examples of everything that is right with the Army.
“I think in addition to being the world’s greatest army, we are the world’s most compassionate army,” he said. “You see these huge massive Soldiers and you put them in front of little kids and they become little kids themselves. They look at these children and they see the sons and daughters they haven’t seen in 15 months. All of these guys have very tough exteriors, but also have very big hearts.”
Ali said care packages sent from America have been a big help to the medics.
People have mailed Ali pain relievers, toothpaste, toothbrushes, bandages and anti-acids to assist the citizens he treats on a daily basis.
“Since we’ve been here, the American people have been very generous,” he said. “We receive two to 10 packages every two weeks. Everyone back in America has been amazingly supportive. To be honest, I don’t even know who they are. They have just heard about us and lent their support.”
As more and more people come, Ali and his medics will continue to help them with the hope it will help keep American Soldiers safe.
“I’d rather be working on an Iraqi patient than a U.S. Soldier,” Ali said. “Not that one life is more important than another, but these are my boys. I’m very protective of them and my main goal is to get them all back home to their families. My heart goes out to all these young Soldiers out here. I have so much admiration for everything they do. I don’t have to get up in the middle of the night and pull guard or do details like these kids do every day. All of them go out. Hopefully by helping these people, it will mean that everyone of them will come back safely.”
The 3-1 Cav. Regt. is assigned to the 3rd HBCT, 3rd Infantry Division, from Fort Benning, Ga., and has been deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since March 2007.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

3-1 Cav. Regt. Finds Two Caches In Two Days

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – Soldiers of Company D, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, found two separate caches tallying 75 120 mm mortar rounds, one bag of mortar propellant and one bag of mortar fuses Jan. 17 and 18 near Jisr Diyala, south of Baghdad.

Company D Soldiers responded to two similar reports from Concerned Local Citizens, according to 1st Lt. Daniel Bell, from San Antonio, Texas, executive officer for Company D.

Bell explained local citizens found the caches and reported them to the Concerned Local Citizens, who in turn informed Company D.

“This is definitely a step in the right direction,” Bell said. “We have good people in the area that are very proactive in finding things that they know need to be cleared out of their communities. They are not just doing it for themselves. They are doing it for the betterment of their country.”

Company D, 1-15 Inf. Regt. is attached to the 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment and is assigned to the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Benning, Ga. The unit has been deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since March 2007.

Troop A Soldiers Do The Heavy Lifting At Patrol Base Assassin

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – Using heavy chains, humvees and a makeshift weight set purchased with their own money, four noncommissioned officers assigned to Troop A, 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, are proving that “Army Strong” is not just a catchy motto to attract new recruits.

Day in and day out, members of the Combat Outpost Assassin power-lifting team make the time to go to the gym they constructed from the ground up.
“We’ve had to come in here at three or four in the morning to work out because of our mission schedules,” said Sgt. Brandon Sayles, from Hilo, Hawaii, a squad leader in Troop A.

“We wake each other up to make sure we get our work out in. It has become an important part of what we do out here and nobody has a problem with it.”

Lack of sleep is just one of the obstacles that the group overcame to become, in their minds, the strongest Soldiers in the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team.
During the summer, 1st platoon, Troop A constructed a weight room to accommodate Soldiers, including the team.

“They needed a place to work out because it was getting hot during the summer so we built this place,” said Sgt. 1st Class Lockett, from Huntsville, Ala., the platoon sergeant for 1st platoon, Troop A. “We bought the air conditioner and the heater for it with our own money … Soldiers bought a lot of the weights back at (Fort) Benning and had them shipped out here. They built their own squat rack.

A lot of these weights we scavenged from various places. When you add the cost of the mirror and the stereo in here, we’ve spent about 1,500 dollars to have this place.”

Despite the cost, members of team still feel they need more. Sayles pointed out that in many cases they are limited in what they can do because they only have a certain number of plates.

“We don’t have the nice weight room and all the equipment they have back at (FOB) Hammer,” said Staff Sgt. Jay Doran, from Orlando, Fla., the mortar section sergeant for 2nd platoon. “So we have to use other things to get strong.”

Some of the unorthodox training methods the team employs to train include lifting towing chains to work out their back and shoulders, pushing up-armored Humvees to strengthen their legs and picking up the ATVs used by the mechanics to strengthen their back and legs.

“It’s all a competition,” Doran said. “It’s friendly competition between all of us. We try and hang with one another and out do the guy that lifts before us. We know all the Soldiers back at Hammer have nice equipment and a better diet, so we have to work twice as hard to stay with them.”

The team competed in FOB Hammer’s strongman competition last November and finished first, besting the other teams competing against them in bench press, farmer’s carry, dead-lift and Humvee-pushing events.

“We don’t get to compete in a lot of events like this due to missions,” Doran said. “When we hear about a dead lift competition and we can’t compete, it’s frustrating. We found out what the winning weight was and the next day all of us dead-lifted it just to prove that we all could have won that.”
The club has been responsible for helping motivate the Soldiers of Troop A, said Lockett.

“These guys have implemented a workout plan for 60 percent of the Troop,” he said. “I would say that 60 guys out of our 80-man troop work out because of the example these guys set. They are real motivators.”

The Soldiers in the club have other reasons to continue working out at odd hours in the morning.

“It’s a stress reliever,” said Staff Sgt. Jimmy Cameron, from Rayford, N.C., a section sergeant for 2nd platoon. “There are days that I come in here to work out after a ten-hour mission. It’s just a way to get through the day. You get to a point where you need it to relax.”
Doran agreed with Cameron’s assessment.

“If one of us is having a bad day, we can always come here and work out with one another,” he said. “We pick each other up. When we start working out, we feed off one another.”

Sayles said that the make-shift gym has become a refuge for him.

“I really don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have it,” he said. “The deployment would go by so slow if I couldn’t work out. This place is a motivator. It gives Soldiers something to do. A lot of young guys get hung up on the internet and the phones and really just make themselves miserable because they wind up missing home so much. This place gives them something to do and helps them better themselves.”

For Doran, the club was a bonding experience for him. Having just transfered from the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, the club was a way for him to meet Soldiers with similar interest.

“Working out with guys like these builds camaraderie,” he said. “I’ve only known these guys about three months, but I’m as close with them as anyone. Working out with them goes way beyond work; it has become a friendship.”

The 3-1 Cav. Regt. and 1-15 Inf. Regt. are assigned to the 3rd HBCT, 3rd Infantry Division, from Fort Benning, Ga., and have been deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since March 2007.

3-1 Cav. Regt. Attends Pump Station Opening

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FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – Soldiers and leaders of 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment attended the grand opening of a water pump station Jan. 15 in the Umm Al-Bid village, near Jisr Diyala.

Water production from the new pump station will provide 10 times more water to the Jisr Diyala and Nahrwan areas than before, according to Sgt. 1st Class Daniel McInnis, a 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team staff noncommissioned officer.

“Before the pump station, people would get five to six hours of water per week,” said McInnis, from Binghamton, N.Y. “Now people get 20 hours of water per day on average.”

McInnis said Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces had conducted very few security operations in Umm Al-bid and security threats made it difficult to complete projects to strengthen the village’s economy.

“We identified the project when we first got to the area in April (2007),” said Maj. Andrew Koloski, from Juneau, Alaska, executive officer for the 3-1 Cav. Regt. “We were only working on it for the past 90 days, but it took a while for the planning and to achieve the security necessary to begin construction.”

Since the arrival of the 3rd HBCT to the Mada’in Qada, the brigade’s area of operation, insurgent activity has significantly decreased, Koloski said. Since establishing a Concerned Local Citizens group in October, violence has dropped, resulting in the completion of the project.

Koloski said the project was primarily Iraqi-run. The Mada’in Qada and Jisr Diyala leaders made significant contributions to the project.

“The horizontal pump station represents a culmination of a lot of effort on the part of the Government of Iraq, Coalition Forces and Iraqi citizens,” Koloski said. “Water is the life blood of any society; especially in the desert. This pump station greatly enhances the availability of irrigation in the area.”

The 3-1 Cav. Regt. is assigned to the 3rd HBCT, 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Benning, Ga., and has been deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since March 2007.