Stryker soldiers in action

Soldiers Magazine, April, 2004 by Jeremy Heckler

MEMBERS of the 2nd Infantry Division have been patrolling the roads and villages north of Baghdad to help keep the peace.

As darkness fell recently on forward-operating base Pacesetter, Soldiers of the 5th Battalion, 20th Inf. Regiment, made final checks on their weapons and equipment.

"I've been going over in my head everything that I've learned as an infantryman," said SPC Michael Findell of Company A. "Now I'm just trying to relax."

Findell would lead the way for his squad. As the point man, he would be the forward eyes and ears for his team.

In tents around the battalion, the mood was light, as Soldiers played cards and listened to music, waiting for the call to mount up.

Word passed slowly that something coalition forces have been waiting to hear for 11 months had happened. The simple words "We got him" came from L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator in Iraq. Saddam

Hussein was, of course, the "him" in Bremer's announcement. After someone confirmed the information, cheers ripped through the battalion.

The fantastic news didn't make the upcoming operation any easier, however. Findell and the others knew insurgents might retaliate.

Later that night, "Sykes Regulars," as the Soldiers are called, headed for their tactical assembly area. Before leaving, 1LT Joel Beck, Co. A's executive officer, clarified for his Soldiers the threat that still existed, specifically to the air guards in the rear of his Stryker combat vehicle.

Upon arriving at the site, the unit received word of a mission change due to Hussein's capture. The battalion would now roll through the city of Samarra at intervals throughout the day. So until mission time the Soldiers would sit and wait, pulling guard throughout the night.

In the morning, Co. C made the first trip through its part of the city. The Soldiers stopped vehicles and quelled a disturbance at a gas station. Behind them, Co. B rolled into town and encountered some difficulty.

As the Soldiers drove through the city, they saw a large flock of pigeons take flight. The pigeons were apparently used as a signal to announce the arrival of the Stryker infantry vehicles.

Moments later, two men on a motorcycle fired automatic weapons at the patrol while using school children as cover. The Soldiers, considering the safety of the children and a nearby mosque, employed snipers to target the attackers and successfully suppressed the enemy. The attackers fled as the patrol continued moving through the city.

After they traveled a short distance, the patrol was attacked again by automatic weapons fire from a group using an overgrown field for cover.

In a simultaneous action, attackers detonated an improvised explosive device to the south of the patrol. The patrol was then inundated by fire. In a continuing coordinated effort, the patrol was attacked from the west by insurgents using rocket-propelled grenades. At the same time, mortar fire came from the north.

The enemy's attack was ineffective, however, causing neither casualties nor damage to the vehicles.

Automatic weapons fire could be heard for miles as the Soldiers engaged the enemy. The men radioed a nearby patrol and requested support.

Co. A Soldiers responded and moved toward the embattled patrol. Both U.S. elements then fought through the ambush and eliminated the threat.

"We moved in on their fight flank to allow them to continue to fight," said Beck of his sister unit. "We had a couple of small contacts and firefights, but Co. B took the brunt of the engagement."

Snipers from Co. A took position on the roof near a casualty-collection point.

CPL Samuel Trevino, a sniper with Co. A, said he looked under stairs and in doorways. As one resident came through the doorway, he directed her back into her apartment. With the enemy out there somewhere, the snipers took no chances.

"I was in a doorway, scared as hell, with a 9mm pistol in one hand and an M-4 rifle in the other," said Trevino.

At the end of the day, a company commander confirmed that 11 attackers had been killed.

After confirming their identities, Samarran residents moved the attackers' bodies from the area. There were no coalition casualties during the firefight, and except for a civilian automobile that was damaged by an RPG, there was no damage to any other property or equipment.

It was not just another day for the Soldiers of Sykes Regulars, for they experienced the first significant enemy contact by any unit in their brigade.

"We're just doing our jobs, just like in training," said Beck.

SGT Jeremy Heckler is a member of the 2nd Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade.