Time Slowed Down...

We are almost at the end of another work week and the news from Baghdad is still quiet. My wife and I are looking forward to hearing from Chris at anytime but we know he is busy. Thus, we are grateful for whatever we get. That reminds me - in our world of fast food, drive through, gotta have it now expectations this deployment is teaching me a lot about patience. What am I learning? That I need to work on being more patient. Boy, do I ever. So, don't give up on me...I am still a work in progress.

Also, for those of you who have been with this blog from the beginning, commented or sent me an email - thanks! Your words of encouragement mean so much to me and I am humbled that you would consider taking time out of your day to check in. This is all about Chris and his fellow warriors...

K, lets get to the heart of this blog tonight. For those of you with warriors in the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment the latest article from the Stars & Stripes may be a little difficult to read. You probably know where this is going.

Seth Robson recounts the vicious fight the 3-2 SCR had removing al-Qaida from the Hadar neighborhood in Southern Baghdad. A fight that took six of our best men..a fight that will forever remain in the memories of our warriors.

As you would expect, it is a gritty, unflinching and at times, raw look at close-in combat operations in an urban environment. For some who had warriors in the fight, it may be a read you decide to pass on...your call.

Find a quiet spot and read the recollections from the warriors who fought these battles. Remember the six who paid the ultimate sacrifice to bring quiet to this neighborhood. Remember their loved ones. Remember those from the 3-2 SCR that have moved on to other missions - pray for their safety and peace of mind.

After my first read I almost felt like I needed to wipe the sweat from my face. On the second read I did wipe my face...but it wasn't sweat...it was tears and I am not quite sure why.

All of the photos that go with this article were taken by Seth Robson, S&S. The one above shows First Lt. Andrew Teague, 24, of Glen Ellyn, Ill., who leads 4th Platoon, Company G, 3rd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry (Stryker) Regiment, as he points out enemy positions from a room where his soldiers took cover Sept. 18 during a battle with insurgents in Baghdad's Hadar neighborhood.

By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Friday, December 7, 2007

BAGHDAD — The streets of southern Baghdad where 3rd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry (Stryker) Regiment fought through September to root out a nest of al-Qaida in Iraq fighters were quiet Tuesday.

In the Hadar neighborhood, near the epicenter of the violence, a couple of young Iraqi men sat outside a small shop frowning at soldiers from the squadron’s 2nd Platoon, Company G. The Americans, on their way to another mission outside Baghdad, were taking a last look at the place where one of their toughest battles happened, on Sept. 16.

“This street seemed a lot longer that day and a lot wider,” recalled Staff Sgt. Jared Utter, 34, of Columbia, S.C., who took cover on a nearby rooftop when the enemy opened up with machine-gun fire on his platoon.

“Time slowed down,” recalled Sgt. Angel Fernando, 25, of Marietta, Ga., an expert sniper who gunned down a fleeing insurgent during the fight.

The battle was one of many fought by 3rd Squadron, which bore the brunt of heavy fighting by the regiment, losing six soldiers killed in action in three months in Iraq.

The squadron’s mission was to remove al-Qaida from Hadar, a task that involved clearing hundreds of houses in an area that insurgents had fortified with numerous explosive devices and where many chose to make their last stand.

Soldiers, who cleared the neighborhood in a pincer movement from the north and south, recalled nights sleeping in wrecked rooms, getting so thirsty they drank cups of dirty liquid offered by locals and blowing down walls so they could move from house to house without exposing themselves to fire in the street.

Spc. Scott Fuller, 32, of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., said he pushed down from the north with Company G, clearing about 14 blocks of mostly empty houses.

All was quiet until a deep buried bomb went off 10 yards in front of his Stryker armored personnel carrier, raining shrapnel and concrete on his head as he peered out of a roof hatch.

“As soon as that went off they dropped 10 to 15 mortars on us,” Fuller said, adding that by then he was safely inside the Stryker with his buddies.

Utter found a giant cache of artillery shells, rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons in one house as his squad pushed through. The 3rd Squadron soldiers still find weapons in the neighborhood and blew up two bombs found in empty yards on Tuesday.

Utter said he and another soldier avoided having their heads blown off after peeking over a wall, just before a bomb detonated, showering them with ball bearings.

“We were laughing about it and then they opened up with machine guns and small arms. We huddled up against a wall while they hammered us. Bullets were zinging right over our heads and going through the walls and kicking up dirt around us,” he said.

In the same fight, Spc. Jay Jacobs was knocked unconscious by a blast that left him with a fractured cheek and shrapnel wounds to his face and neck. His teammates pulled him into a house and he was medically evacuated while Sgt. Robert Ayres (who was killed in action on Sept. 29) fired an AT4 anti-tank weapon at the enemy, recalled 2nd Platoon leader 1st Lt. Eric Owens, 28, of Richmond, Va.

Two days later, Company G’s 4th Platoon was clearing a nearby street when heavy machine-gun fire erupted around them.

Platoon leader 1st Lt. Andrew Teague, 24,of Glen Ellyn, Ill., said soldiers put as much fire as they could into an insurgent position, but the enemy kept shooting until an Apache helicopter slammed a Hellfire missile into the building.

The house hit by the airstrike still has a gaping tear in it, as do many buildings in the neighborhood, while others are pockmarked with bullet holes.

Soldiers from the 4th Platoon was supposed to watch an intersection, but they couldn’t get close because the building next to it was merely a skeleton and didn’t provide cover, Teague said.

“I walked up to the intersection and could see wires coming from the ground and all of a sudden a [bomb] went off, knocking us over,” he said.

Insurgents moved from building to building, taking shots at the platoon, which was inside a partially built brick house. Spc. Aaron Walker was hit in the neck by a ricochet and the platoon called for an evacuation. But when they dropped smoke to obscure the rescue, head-high grass around the house caught fire and medics had to rush through the flames to get Walker to a field ambulance, Teague said. Walker later died of his wounds.

On Sept. 26, 3rd Platoon, Company H was in Hadar’s market street. Shops were closed and soldiers expected an attack that they’d been warned about.

The platoon’s leader, 1st Lt. Douglass Locke, 25, of Acton, Mass., said an insurgent ran into an intersection in the middle of the market with an RPG, but misfired and the round exploded in the middle of the street as the Americans fired back.

Sgt. Keith Thompson, 36, from Miami, Fla., said he shot at an insurgent approaching the market but wasn’t sure if he hit him.

“The next thing the insurgents did was send children into the street as spotters. That was something I didn’t expect to see,” Thompson added.

After numerous engagements, including a 72-hour operation — Wolfpack Avalanche — to clear the entire neighborhood, al-Qaida has been soundly beaten in Hadar, soldiers said. These days, any insurgents there keep a low profile, avoiding the Americans and bowing to pressure from locals who want them out of the area, soldiers said.

Hadar’s market is a hive of activity, with shoppers browsing dozens of shops, mechanics fixing cars and motorcycles on the footpath and children following the soldiers to beg for sweets. The 3rd Squadron soldiers said they were sad to leave, but glad they’d made a difference in this troubled part of Iraq.

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Aren't you proud of the work the 2nd SCR has done and is doing every day? What would you say to your warrior if you could look them in the eye at this very moment?

I know what I would say to Chris...

Chris, I love you son...

v/r,
- Collabman