The Awakening...

The reports over the past couple of weeks are pretty clear - conditions are changing in Baghdad. Driving home tonight I wondered what Chris thinks about the change on the ground in Baghdad. Is he bored, is he adjusting, is it an uneasy calm? I wonder...

For me, I have been doing some surfing to see what others are saying about this change. You may be doing the same thing. I wrote a blog back in November called Fault Line... where I wondered out loud if this was all a ruse. Yesterday an article by Jonathan Steele of The Guardian, Iraqi Insurgents Regrouping, Says Sunni Resistance Leader caught my eye. If you have time, take a peek and see what you think. Here is a teaser:

"Iraq's main Sunni-led resistance groups have scaled back their attacks on US forces in Baghdad and parts of Anbar province in a deliberate strategy aimed at regrouping, retraining, and waiting out George Bush's "surge", a key insurgent leader has told the Guardian."

So, is the movement described in that article and called, The Awakening, something that will last or will our warriors be back in the kinetic fight at some point in '08 (or sooner) with insurgents who may be waiting in the shadows? This is quite a complex scenario so...

I wonder...do you?

Enjoy the article from Seth Robson and enjoy the positive change that the 2nd SCR is experiencing today...

By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Wednesday, December 5, 2007

BAGHDAD — Soldiers deploying to Iraq should expect a different fight than they’ve experienced on past missions, according to the Baghdad-based commander of the 2nd Cavalry (Stryker) Regiment.

Col. John RisCassi, whose brigade combat team-sized force out of Vilseck, Germany, has been fighting in Baghdad since September, said Thursday that battle conditions are changing fast in the Iraqi capital.

“If you were here six months ago, it is great to have that experience, but it is definitely different. Rely on your experience, but it is a different enemy,” he said in an interview on Thursday in Baghdad.

For example, 2nd Cav spent its first month in Baghdad fighting a dug-in al-Qaida in Iraq force in the Hadar neighborhood, he said.

“We went through a very kinetic fight for the first 30 days we were down here. We had to clear out a significant AQI stronghold,” RisCassi said.

Al-Qaida fighters had fortified Hadar and civilians fled the neighborhood before 2nd Cav began Operation Dragoon Talon, which aimed to clear the insurgents from the area, he said.

“This was a deliberate defense of a dug-in enemy. There were no civilians. They were either gone or staying inside. Everything was blown up. In 72 hours we had 54 [roadside bombs]. It was an absolute battle zone,” he said of the neighborhood.

But after a tough fight, in which dozens of insurgents were killed or captured, Hadar has changed for the better and 2nd Cav soldiers there are transitioning to work with the civilian population, helping to restore essential services such as water, electricity and sewage, RisCassi said.

These days locals are much more willing to talk to coalition forces, he said.

“The mind-set of the people is turning around. You see it in Hadar. I talked to one old guy. He said he doesn’t care if they were AQI or other insurgent groups. He just wanted the bad people gone out of there,” RisCassi said.

The 2nd Cav is helping Iraqis with the process of reconciliation in which Sunni and Shiite leaders come together to put aside their differences. It’s a process that has developed since the regiment arrived in-country and something they didn’t train for back in Germany, RisCassi said.

The regiment has racked up some impressive combat statistics since it arrived in Baghdad.

For example, it has discovered more than 100 roadside bombs, including one with more than 100 pounds of homemade explosive. They’ve also found hundreds of pounds of other explosives, weapons, bomb-making materials and caches, he said.

“And there’s a lot of bad dudes we have taken off the streets. We have a very high capture rate and they stay detained. Eight out of 10 guys we are capturing are going to jail,” RisCassi said.

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Chris, I love you buddy and we remember your sacrifice every day. I am so proud of the 2nd SCR and the job you all have done and continue to do every day - stay with it! Keep your head on a swivel as you take care of business on the streets of Baghdad - be safe and reach out when you can.

You are in our prayers...

v/r,
- Collabman

Sent With Love...

Happy Monday! We are one day closer to having our warriors home, yes? As I arrived home tonight I took a peek at the email flow within our support group and what a wonderful feeling it was to see our soldiers checking in with loved ones. It appears our warriors are hanging in there and doing well. We continue to pray for them and their safety - they still have much work to do in Baghdad. For me I continue to take one day at a time...how are you doing?

Last night our home was a beehive of activity as four wonderful ladies spent the evening packing and preparing 31 boxes for shipment overseas to our servicemen and women. I had the easy job of photographing them as they worked and you know what...I learned a lot about them just by watching and listening. Maybe I need to do more of this...

What caught my attention as these ladies sorted the items, filled every nook and cranny of the boxes and then prepared them for shipment was the love they showed for men and women they would never meet. How else do you explain what they did? I was also touched by all the items that were donated by our church...again, how do you express their gifts in words. I can't...

Jane, Maria, Nancy and Teena didn't know most of these soldiers, sailors and marines but you know what...it didn't matter. They went about their business knowing that their efforts would help put a smile on the faces of servicemen and women who would spend this Christmas serving their country...away from their families and loved ones. These women freely gave of their time and asked nothing...absolutely nothing in return. Talk about being in the fight and supporting our country in their own quiet way - that's what these ladies did last night and do every time they faithfully pray for our warriors.

So here is a virtual thank you and hug to Jane, Maria, Nancy and Teena for all their efforts. Well done ladies! These packages will be warmly received - trust me on that.

Let me close with a simple slideshow from last night...as you watch the photos know that these boxes were indeed sent with love...

v/r,
- Collabman

War Pigs...

Did the title grab your attention? I thought it might - hang on and I'll explain in a moment.

Before we get to the War Pigs from the 3rd Platoon, 84th Engineer Company, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, I wanted to draw your attention to an article on the emerging Cholera Crisis in Baghdad from David Smith, The Observer. Remember David's reporting while embedded with the 2nd SCR? Here is his latest...just one more challenge our warriors from the 2nd SCR are dealing with while on patrol in Baghdad...

Now to the War Pigs...the 2nd SCR is blessed to have talented combat engineer's supporting their counter-IED mission in Iraq. These engineers run route-clearing missions to protect our loved ones from deadly road-side bombs. In my opinion, a job that doesn't get enough publicity or respect.

The War Pigs use a series of tools like the Buffalo (Mine Protected Vehicle) to help them do their job. However, they also dismount and get up close and personal with potential IEDs. Check out the pictures that accompany the article - crazy stuff, eh? Can I see a virtual show of hands for those who would trade jobs with the War Pigs? I thought so...

Before you watch another football replay tonight, give Seth Robson's latest article in the Stars and Stripes a read...and join me in applauding the efforts of the War Pigs for their work to clear the way for our 2nd SCR warriors.

Here is a virtual tip of the hat to the War Pigs from the 3rd Platoon, 84th Engineer Company, 2nd Cavalry Regiment - well done guys, well done! War Pigs, a fitting name given the work you guys do...

By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Sunday, December 2, 2007

BAGHDAD — Trash, dead animals, concrete blocks and street rubble appear to fascinate soldiers from the 84th Engineer Company, 2nd Cavalry (Stryker) Regiment.

On daily route-clearance missions, the engineers roll out of Camp Liberty, part of a sprawling complex of bases connected to Baghdad International Airport, and drive for hours paying close attention to what they find by the side of the road.

“Was that Coke bottle there yesterday? How about that plastic bag? Is that a piece of wire running out of that hole in the ground? That’s really strange … weird. Let’s grid-reference that lump of concrete. Let’s take a closer look at that piece of half-buried metal,” the soldiers say as they make their way through traffic-clogged urban streets or along dirt back roads in search of roadside bombs.

Their missions are one of several measures the Army takes to defeat roadside bombs, which have killed hundreds of U.S. troops in Iraq over the past four years.

On Thursday morning, the 84th’s 3rd Platoon, the War Pigs, cleared about 40 kilometers of roads connecting Camp Liberty to Combat Outpost Aztec, a smaller 2nd Cav base surrounded by semi-rural land on Baghdad’s southern fringe.

One of the platoon soldiers, Staff Sgt. Chester Wall, 34, of Rapid City, S.D., did this work when the unit was last in Iraq, in Mosul in 2005.

Back then, the engineers would mount combat patrols and drive 35 to 40 mph searching for roadside bombs. Now, Wall said, route-clearance missions travel at 5 to 10 mph and rely on a mix of Strykers with plows, a Husky observation platform and the Buffalo — a heavily armored vehicle with a robotic arm used to “interrogate” suspected bombs.

Insurgents have gotten better at disguising their bombs, but engineers have gotten better at finding them, Wall said. And when the soldiers spot something suspicious, they can use the Buffalo to roll up to it and use the robotic arm to roll it over or dig it up to see what it is.

“A lot of people think we are crazy, but that’s what combat engineers do,” he said. “It is no different than back in World War II when they cleared with mine detectors, except now we have all this equipment and vehicles.” Sometimes the bombs explode in front of the Buffalo.

“It isn’t cool. It’s like if you are hit by an NFL linebacker with no pads on,” said Wall, who despite being the victim of one such blast still presses his face close to the Buffalo’s shrapnel-proof windows to get a close look at objects as they are inspected.

The 84th has found eight roadside bombs during two months in Baghdad. Only one has struck the engineers so far — an explosively formed penetrator that shot in front of a Stryker during an Oct. 8 ambush that involved mortars, small arms and a rocket-propelled grenade. The unit killed a three-man enemy RPG team during the encounter, Wall said.

Occasionally, the engineers dismount to inspect things such as ditches and culverts. On this day, Spc. Michael Stevens, 24, of Warren, Mich., climbed out to check inside a drain, crawling into the darkness with a flashlight to see what was down there.

They also dismounted to look for weapons hidden behind berms or in prickly bushes.

During one search, Wall spotted a plastic container filled with what an explosive ordnance disposal team confirmed was homemade explosives. Former Sunni insurgents who have turned against al-Qaida often dump weapons in the area, soldiers said.

But as Wall probed around the explosives for other buried ordnance, an RPG fired from nearby forced the platoon to set up a defensive position while EOD soldiers came to detonate the homemade explosives.

For 30 minutes, Apache attack helicopters circled overhead until the explosives were disposed of.

Second Lt. Erich Schnee, 27, of Dayton, Ohio, the 3rd Platoon leader, said his unit takes its time on route-clearance missions. Thursday’s took seven hours.

“This is what engineers do out here. We go out and clear routes nice and slow and make sure they are safe for coalition forces,” he said.

The explosives find was a small but satisfying one, he said.

“It wasn’t a huge find, but we feel like we could possibly have saved someone’s life today,” he said.
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Chris, you are in our prayers son and we love you more than you will ever know. Be safe!

v/r,
- Collabman