Filed from Mosul, this story originally ran in the Jan. 23, 2006 issue of the News-Miner.
Strains of “Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd resonated through the belly of an armored Stryker vehicle rolling early Friday morning along the streets of Mosul. The southern rock anthem was meant to shake the sleep from soldiers inside and help steel them against a rainy, chilly patrol ahead.
The gray day with temperatures in the 30s and 40s would have these members of 3rd Platoon of Charlie Co. walking the neighborhoods of east Mosul seemingly brooding more about the weather than the possibility of sniper fire from nearby buildings–although they stick to their training and keep their heads on swivels.
With the exception of the rain and cold, these soldiers said not much has changed for them since the last time they were accompanied by a reporter from their hometown newspaper. That was on Election Day, Dec. 15.
While tensions around Mosul have fluctuated since the election, this is one group of U.S. Army soldiers who will tell you their boots are slapping the rain-soaked streets of what has become a familiar routine for many members of the 172nd Stryker Brigade deployed to this area from their home base of Fort Wainwright back in August. For many, including these members of the 2-1 Infantry, it’s missing their families, the banter that keeps troops laughing and impending chances to go home on leave that occupy most of their thoughts.
It doesn’t escape anyone that the chance for violence always looms. Three helicopters have crashed in the last two weeks in Iraq, two in the Mosul area and one claiming the life of four Alaska Air National Guard members. A female reporter remains held hostage, just one of 240 foreigners held captive in the last three years. Roadside bombs and attacks like those taking place in Baghdad on a daily basis against U.S. and Iraqi troops are a constant threat here as well.
But Mosul is only relatively quiet. U.S. soldiers, namely the brigade stationed around Mosul, still encounter improvised explosive devices on a daily basis and small-arms fire frequently. But maybe not today, maybe not here in Charlie Co’s sector. Not that they’re complaining.
Insurgents don’t like rain anymore than the soldiers do, Lt. Jeremiah Parker said.
“We figure the rain is kind of deterring them (insurgents) from doing anything much lately,” he said.
Some of the soldiers in the platoon have switched up positions in the last six weeks. Since election day, Pvt. Niles Harrison has switched from gunner to driver, a position that keeps him tucked inside the Stryker while most of the rest of the platoon dismounts to do walking patrols. Harrison said at first he missed having a rifle in his hands.
“But now I’m driving a 22-ton weapon, so it’s not too bad,” he said.
Harrison switched positions with Spc. Joshua Schonacher, who is glad to get out and walk about more now. He didn’t particularly enjoy driving. He said a knee injury would have kept him in Fairbanks when the brigade deployed in August, but he got medical clearance to deploy by volunteering for a driver position.
“I wasn’t going to stay back there while all my buddies I trained with came over here,” he said.
Spc. Andrew Canada is still the vehicle commander for Parker’s Stryker. Vehicle commanders don’t often switch jobs because of the specialized training they have in the vehicle’s systems. They help direct the driver, oversee the computer systems and operate the .50 caliber turret gun.
As vehicle commander, Canada is also the default deejay, helping cut the dreariness of this rainy day with mostly rock classics like Skynyrd, Foreigner and Grateful Dead. Parker kept his hands warm by air-drumming to “Free Bird.” Later the band America’s lyrics were belted out in an appropriate tune for the day, ” … it feels good to be out of the rain.”
That line was mostly directed at the gunners, the two rain-exposed soldiers keeping watch out the back hatches of the vehicles.
They alternated regularly with soldiers inside the Stryker on Friday to take breaks from the rain, wiping off droplets from their eye protection and sliding back inside the belly of the Stryker to warm their gloves and hands by the floor heaters.
While patrolling on foot, the soldiers absentmindedly kept their formations and second-nature alertness to their surroundings while bantering about anything to make the time go by. Some of the guys were laughing about episodes of “Arrested Development” they had watched on DVDs the night before.
Squad leader Staff Sgt. Jason Depp kept an eye out from the middle of the pack, scanning rooftops while dropping one-liners back and forth with Staff Sgt. Craig Harmon and Sgt. First class Eric Olsen.
Depp–the platoon’s court jester as Schonacher calls him–walks the streets with an extra component of “badassness” to his appearance thanks to his choice of weapon. As a squad leader Depp can, and has, chosen to carry a shotgun rather than rifle. Parker said it’s not all for looks.
While having dozens of shells strapped across his chest looks imposing, shotguns and side arms actually hold significance for most Iraqis, who equate them to powerful positions because many soldiers and associates in Saddam Hussein’s regime used those choices of weapons.
Depp doesn’t deny the shotgun’s authority.
“This is like I put one shot in the air and boom, everyone stops,” he said.
But he knows it looks pretty hardcore too, he says with a joking tone.
Just because the soldiers keep it lighthearted doesn’t mean the neighborhood doesn’t have enemy activity. When the battalion checked in with Parker over the radio to get an update on the patrol he said, “We’re just out looking for trouble.”
They might have to be actively looking for it, but its still there.
One man Parker stopped on the street said he saw men in a car about two weeks ago drive through the neighborhood, stop at a nearby playground and shoot at Iraqi army soldiers. Parker asked if he got a good look at the men or the car, but the man said most people in the neighborhood retreat inside their homes when they see suspicious activity.
“We can’t do anything or look at them otherwise they’d shoot us,” the man said.
Still, Parker said his platoon hasn’t encountered any small arms fire or improvised explosive devices in about a month and a half. He said the platoon has begun venturing along busier roads hoping to make more of a presence and to see if they can tempt some enemy contact.
“Maybe draw some fire,” Parker says matter of factly.
It might sound precarious, but Parker said insurgents are nameless, faceless enemies who sometimes need to be drawn out in order to engage. Parker said there are two kinds of neighborhoods: those where the insurgents live and those where the insurgents do their deeds. They don’t like to work and live in the same environment.
“The conundrum is do we go for them where they do stuff or do we go for them where they live?” he said.
As the patrol dragged on this rainy day, so did the daydreaming.
Warming up in the vehicle while driving to another patrol area, Pvt. Donald Terriquez said he just wants to make it through the deployment and back to Alaska. After the brigade’s return he only has two months left in the Army. He leaned back against his seat, visualizing his plans.
He and his brother, who entered the Army at the same time and will get out the same day, plan to cruise their motorcycles cross-country on a road wtrip. Until that time, Terriquez knows time will drag, but hopefully so will the action.
“The less I have to do the better,” Terriquez said.