Filed from Rawah, this story originally ran in the Dec. 26, 2005 issue of the News-Miner.
In some ways, Combat Outpost Rawah is a rather appropriate setting for the 4th Squadron, 14th Cavalry of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team. They come from the state dubbed “The Last Frontier,” an equally suitable title for this area of Iraq that remains one of the most active regions in the country for enemy activity.
Most of the brigade is located in and around the Mosul area on large bases with adequate amenities. They patrol urban neighborhoods that have seen dramatic decreases in enemy activity and have worked hand-in-hand with up-and-coming Iraqi army and police.
But the 4-14 is responsible, along with a joint task force of marines, sailors and airmen, for an area of Western Iraq that encompasses 28,000 square kilometers throughout the Euphrates River Valley, along with 68 kilometers of the Syrian border. This area is rural, desolate desert with austere living conditions. And here, the battle still rages.
“We’re about 18 months behind where Mosul is right now as far as security,” Lt. Col. Mark Freitag said. “It’s a different fight. It’s not even close.”
Spartan conditions
The 4-14 arrived here four months ago to an outpost that was just being created. There were a few wooden buildings used for the operational center and command offices. Mostly there were tents for sleeping, mobile units for eating and sand enough for all. Now there are a few more buildings and amenities, but there is still no running water or paved walkways. It’s more difficult than at other bases to call and e-mail home.
Sand is the common denominator here. It gets in the soldiers’ clothes, eyes and food. It puts wear and tear on the Stryker vehicles. Boots and uniforms are hard to keep clean. It’s strangely similar to snow. The same kind of grader seen on Fairbanks streets is seen here, painted green, and used to remove the top layer of fluffy stuff to create a hard pack. The sand has the consistency of flour or chalk dust and creates a cloud around the feet with each step.
“When we first got here, it wouldn’t be uncommon for guys to step into it up to here,” Capt. Chris L�Heureux said pointing to mid-thigh. Lt. Col. Mark Freitag said he has soldiers who make snow angels in it.
At Rawah, the 4-14, which includes the Bravo Co. of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry, has dealt with an enemy with a very particular modus operatus–improvised explosive devices.
IED’s are not only more prevalent here than in Mosul, they also pack an extra punch.
They are harder to locate when hidden in sand and can contain a large amount of the same or combination of explosives.
Freitag said he’s lost 14 Stryker vehicles to combat damage, mostly from IED’s. But the soldiers are also becoming keen to the techniques.
First Lt. Gabriel Scheinbaum said soldiers develop an instinct for noticing something amiss or seeing when something is not right in the sand.
“It really has turned into a CSI investigation for our guys,” he said.
Caches and enemies
The 4-14 is adept at finding weapons caches. They have found countless caches in their four months here including thousands of rifles, rounds of ammunition, grenade launchers and other weapons. Capt. Chris L’Heureux said one of his platoons found 13 caches in the past 10 days.
“This whole city is like one large weapon’s depot,” he said.
But perhaps the biggest task of the task force here is to ebb the flow of foreign fighters that funnel into the country from the Syrian border and into Rawah before heading north to Mosul or south to Baghdad. The 4-14 took part in Operation Steel Curtain in November , an operation aimed at clearing towns between here and the border, and trying to identify foreign fighters. The border security has since been turned over to the Iraqi forces with coalition forces acting as support but enemies still are found.
Charlie Troop of the 4th Sqaudron, 14th Cavalry, detained nearly 60 suspected enemies in an operation on Dec. 23.
According to L’Heureux, the troop, acting on intelligence information, went into the town of Rianah to screen for foreign fighters that had reportedly entered the town, killed a family, and taken over a home. The troop asked all men over the age of 10 in the town of 2,000 to come to the school. There they were tested for explosives.
Lt. Gabriel Scheinbaum said that normally in such an operation, the troops would first screen anyone of “military age.”
But here, that takes on a different meaning.
The troop found 56 individuals out of 641 that tested positive for TNT or explosives by testing for residue on their skin. The youngest individual was 13, the oldest in his 60s.
“What we’ve come to realize is there is no set military age for males,” Scheinbaum said.
Early on in the operation, gunshots began ringing out, first in one corner of town, then sweeping across town and pinning some coalition forces.
“There wasn’t any area in the town that was safe because we got bullets flying in every direction and coalition forces in every direction,” L’Heureux said.
In the end, one U.S. soldier was injured, one Iraqi soldier was injured and one died.
It was unusual for the troop to encounter widespread small arms fire; they’ve only had two other instances of it. But L’Heureux said the troops were excited that they were able to nab a number of suspects involved with explosives and IED’s.
“It was good to get boots on the ground and have a positive result,” he said.