Sunday, April 18, 2004
15 May 03 Journal Entry: So Ya Wanna Pick A Fight?
Journal Entry
15 May 03
Al Asad Air Base, Iraq
We've started occupying the Iraqi city of Hadithah, Hadithah Dam, and the villages south of the dam in earnest. Our Battalion tactical operations center, with the Battalion commander, executive officer, operations officer, and ops sergeant major, is setting up inside Hadithah Dam now.
Hadithah Dam is actually an important piece of real estate. It provides much of the electricity for the entire Euphrates river valley all the way down to Baghdad, I gather. US Special operations forces seized it early in April, and have been hit several times by Iraqi counter-spec-ops teams, including artillery, possibly operating out of the city of Hadithah.
If they do have artillery, it would be almost impossible for them to be operating out of anywhere else.
We are very concerned about attempts to sabotage Hadithah Dam, in order to deny electricity to the river valley and discredit US forces and foment unrest. It might also be possible for them to abruptly flood the whole valley with a massive release of water. Saddam's just the kind of malicious bastard who might do that.
We've begun pulling reconnaissance on a former Iraqi army colonel who's been intimidating and threatening the local populace in Hadithah. He has not threatened US forces yet, but some of the villagers have come to US forces asking for help and protection from this guy.
Yesterday an element from Bravo company drove by the entrance to the military housing compound where the guy lives, and we confirmed that the entrance is guarded by men with AK-47s. We have the gate and guard on video. He was trying to conceal the weapon from US troops. The B company element drove away without engaging. Wise move. No need to tip our hand.
Bravo company followed up by dispatching four squads in an all-night reconnaisance of the perimeter of the housing complex. Don't know what they found out yet.
The Battalion is considering conducting a raid-and-snatch for the colonel, then use one company to conduct a search of all 600 houses.
I'm not too keen on picking a fight yet, before we have the battalion's vehicles up and running. We still don't have hardly any tactical vehicles or vehicle mounted radios, and no communications between Hadithah dam, Hadithah village, and our trains here at Al Asad.
No coms, no medevac flights from the battle. That much can be arranged with proper planning and coordination, though. We could request some Bradleys or tanks and helicopter support from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. Aviation radios are good. We probably won't get an air cap for the entire 600-house search, though, which will take a day or three.
No sign yet of the line haul from Jordan. It could be another two weeks to a month. It's hard to find Jordanian truck drivers willing to drive this far into Iraq. The Jordanian government is also a little skittish about US military vehicles driving into Iraq from their territory.
Flying in is ok. And they're even cool with the line haul of US military equipment on civilian trucks. But when US soldiers are driving their own vehicles down Jordanian highways, headed to Iraq, that puts them in an uncomfortable situation politically.
The result downrange is an infantry unit out in Indian country that doesn't have the equipment it needs to accomplish its mission.
15 May 03
Al Asad Air Base, Iraq
We've started occupying the Iraqi city of Hadithah, Hadithah Dam, and the villages south of the dam in earnest. Our Battalion tactical operations center, with the Battalion commander, executive officer, operations officer, and ops sergeant major, is setting up inside Hadithah Dam now.
Hadithah Dam is actually an important piece of real estate. It provides much of the electricity for the entire Euphrates river valley all the way down to Baghdad, I gather. US Special operations forces seized it early in April, and have been hit several times by Iraqi counter-spec-ops teams, including artillery, possibly operating out of the city of Hadithah.
If they do have artillery, it would be almost impossible for them to be operating out of anywhere else.
We are very concerned about attempts to sabotage Hadithah Dam, in order to deny electricity to the river valley and discredit US forces and foment unrest. It might also be possible for them to abruptly flood the whole valley with a massive release of water. Saddam's just the kind of malicious bastard who might do that.
We've begun pulling reconnaissance on a former Iraqi army colonel who's been intimidating and threatening the local populace in Hadithah. He has not threatened US forces yet, but some of the villagers have come to US forces asking for help and protection from this guy.
Yesterday an element from Bravo company drove by the entrance to the military housing compound where the guy lives, and we confirmed that the entrance is guarded by men with AK-47s. We have the gate and guard on video. He was trying to conceal the weapon from US troops. The B company element drove away without engaging. Wise move. No need to tip our hand.
Bravo company followed up by dispatching four squads in an all-night reconnaisance of the perimeter of the housing complex. Don't know what they found out yet.
The Battalion is considering conducting a raid-and-snatch for the colonel, then use one company to conduct a search of all 600 houses.
I'm not too keen on picking a fight yet, before we have the battalion's vehicles up and running. We still don't have hardly any tactical vehicles or vehicle mounted radios, and no communications between Hadithah dam, Hadithah village, and our trains here at Al Asad.
No coms, no medevac flights from the battle. That much can be arranged with proper planning and coordination, though. We could request some Bradleys or tanks and helicopter support from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. Aviation radios are good. We probably won't get an air cap for the entire 600-house search, though, which will take a day or three.
No sign yet of the line haul from Jordan. It could be another two weeks to a month. It's hard to find Jordanian truck drivers willing to drive this far into Iraq. The Jordanian government is also a little skittish about US military vehicles driving into Iraq from their territory.
Flying in is ok. And they're even cool with the line haul of US military equipment on civilian trucks. But when US soldiers are driving their own vehicles down Jordanian highways, headed to Iraq, that puts them in an uncomfortable situation politically.
The result downrange is an infantry unit out in Indian country that doesn't have the equipment it needs to accomplish its mission.
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