Subway Comes To FOB Hammer

By Sgt. Natalie Rostek
3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER – Soldiers of the 3rd (Heavy) Brigade Combat Team and civilians living at Forward Operating Base Hammer can add one more morale boost to the rapidly growing list.

Leaders and Soldiers of the 3rd HBCT, along with civilian contractors, attended a ribbon cutting ceremony signifying the grand opening of a new Subway Aug. 30 at the FOB.

“Now Soldiers of the best heavy brigade combat team in the United States Army can, not only go to the best dining facility the Army has to offer, but can also go to Subway,” said Col. Wayne W. Grigsby, Jr., commander, 3rd HBCT. “It’s a break from the day’s routine.”

The contracted workers smiled widely as the ribbon was cut. They were proud of their accomplishment and contribution to the 3rd HBCT’s mission.

“We are all part of a team,” said Robert Gotshell, chief of service for one of the contracted companies. “We are here to support and anything we can do, we’ll do it.”

“This is a great boost for the Soldier’s morale,” said Brandon Dixon, service business manager for the Army and Air Force Exchange Services, in Baghdad. “This is what the AAFES motto is all about; ‘We go where you go.’”

From left to right: Gotshell, chief of service for one of the contracting companies; Frank Sorbin, an assistant technical manager; Col. Wayne W. Grigsby, Jr., commander of the 3rd (Heavy) Brigade Combat Team; Lt. Col. Kelly Lawler, commander of the 203rd Brigade Support Battalion; Brandon Dixon, service business manager for the Army and Air Force Exchange Services. The group, in Baghdad, cut the ribbon during a ceremony signifying the grand opening of a Subway Aug. 30, at Forward Operating Base Hammer.
Pfc. Tony Mendez, 19, Kingsville, Texas, Company E, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, orders the first sandwich at the new Subway after the ribbon cutting ceremony Aug. 30, at Forward Operating Base Hammer.

Bush Makes Surprise Visit To Iraq

Bush Enters War Zone

By DEB RIECHMANN and ROBERT BURNS, Associated Press Writer

AL-ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq - President Bush and his national security team made a first-hand assessment of the war in Iraq and prospects for political reconciliation Monday as a showdown nears with Congress over the U.S. troop buildup.

The president secretly flew 11 hours to this air base in a remote part of Anbar province, bypassing Baghdad in a symbolic expression of impatience with political paralysis in the nation's capital. The gesture underscored the U.S. belief that the spark for progress may come at the local level.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived ahead of Bush and conferred with senior U.S. officials, including Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, before a session with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, President Jalal Talabani, and other top Iraqi officials from Baghdad.

To a large degree, the setting was the message: Bringing al-Maliki, a Shiite, to the heart of mostly Sunni Anbar province was intended to show the administration's war critics that the beleaguered Iraqi leader is capable of reaching out to Sunnis, who ran the country for years under Saddam Hussein.

Bush has held up Anbar as an example of recent progress, especially on the security front, although the province is still economically deprived and not yet stable enough to turn over to full Iraqi control.

Next week, Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Crocker testify before Congress. Their assessment of the conflict, along with a progress report the White House must give lawmakers by Sept. 15, will determine the next chapter of the war.

The United States cannot sustain the troop buildup indefinitely. And with Democrats calling for withdrawals and a rising U.S. death toll that has topped 3,700, the president is hardpressed to give al-Maliki's government much more time to find a political solution to the fighting.

Bush stopped in Iraq ahead of his visit to Australia for an economic summit with Asia-Pacific leaders. The trip was a closely held secret for obvious security reasons, although speculation about the trip arose late last month when first lady Laura Bush said she was staying home to tend to a pinched nerve in her neck.

The president, who also went to Iraq at Thanksgiving 2003 and in June 2006, was scheduled to leave for Australia on Monday, but Air Force One took off from Andrews Air Force Base Sunday evening instead.

He was joined by his top advisers, including National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley. Joining Gates were Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Adm. William Fallon, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East. Fallon flew aboard Gates' Air Force plane from Washington.

Pengon press secretary Geoff Morrell said the session at al-Asad would be the last big gathering of the president's war advisers with Iraqi leaders before he makes a decision on a way forward in Iraq.

The White House arranged Bush's trip at a pivotal juncture in the Iraq debate. Some prominent GOP lawmakers have broken with Bush on his war strategy, but so far, most Republicans have stood with Bush. In exchange for their loyalty, they want to see substantial progress in Iraq soon.

Making his case before the Sept. 15 report deadline, Bush recently delivered a series of speeches to highlight how the temporary military buildup has routed out insurgents and foreign fighters.

The president has described what he calls "bottom-up" progress in Iraq and often cites a drop in violence in Anbar Province, once a hotbed of insurgency. The turnaround occurred when Sunni Arab leaders joined forces with U.S. troops to hunt down members of al-Qaida, although it's unclear whether they'll back a unified Iraqi government as well.

Critics of the war argue that while the troop buildup may have tamped down violence, the Iraqis are making almost no headway toward political reconciliation. They cite a handful of gloomy progress reports trickling out of Washington that show some success in curbing violence, but little progress toward political power-sharing agreements.

There are now 162,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, including 30,000 that arrived since February as part of Bush's revised strategy to provide security so Iraqi leaders could build a unity government.

Bush met on Friday with his top military chiefs at the Pentagon who expressed concern about a growing strain on American troops and their families from long and often multiple combat tours.

Still, early indications are that the president intends to stick with his current approach — at least into 2008 — despite pressure from the Democratic-led Congress and some prominent Republicans. Right now, the White House is working to keep Republican members of Congress in the president's fold to prevent Democrats from amassing the strength to slash war funds or mandate immediate troop withdrawals.

South of Baghdad, U.S. troops find fatigue, frustration

By Chris Collins, McClatchy Newspapers
Thu Aug 30, 4:51 PM ET

SOUTHEAST OF SALMAN PAK, Iraq — Standing in a small room in the Iraqi home they'd raided an hour earlier, a dozen soldiers from the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division were trading jokes when 1st Sgt. Troy Moore , Company A's senior enlisted man, shouted out.

"We're bringing democracy to Iraq ," he called, with obvious sarcasm, as a reporter entered the room. Then Moore began loudly humming the "Battle Hymn of the Republic." Within seconds the rest of the troops had joined in, filling the small, barren home in the middle of Iraq with the patriotic chorus of a Civil War-era ballad.

U.S. officials say that security has improved since the Sledgehammer Brigade, as the 3rd Brigade is called, arrived five months ago as part of the 30,000-strong buildup of additional U.S. troops to Iraq and took control of an area 30 miles southeast of Baghdad . The brigade, with 3,800 soldiers, has eight times the number of troops that were in the area before.

Although the soldiers who since spring have walked and ridden through this volatile area mixed with Sunni and Shiite Muslims have seen some signs of progress, they still face the daily threat of roadside bombs, an unreliable Iraqi police force, the limitations of depending on Iraqis for tips and the ever-elusive enemy.

"Even though we've out-stayed our welcome, in the big picture of whether we've helped or not, I know we have," said Sgt. Christofer Kitto , a 23-year-old sniper from Altamont, N.Y. "But now it's just in a state of quagmire. The U.S. time here has come and gone."

On this night, the troops had been ferried by helicopter to a rural enclave abutting the Tigris River. Their mission: Uproot a suspected nest of Sunni insurgents.

But the soldiers found only a small cache of weapons outside one of the 13 houses they searched. They detained one man who identified himself with a name that didn't match his government-issued ID, earning him a noisy, expletive-laden interrogation that was easily overheard in the next room.

"Keep your head down! Keep your (expletive) head down!" the interrogator yelled in English as an interpreter translated. "Why are you speaking if you're lying? You better think about what you're saying before you talk to me, son. I've got a real short temper tonight!"

Another Iraqi man who lived in the house also was questioned, though he wasn't detained. What did he know about Sunni insurgents living in the area, asked Staff Sgt. Kenneth Braxton , who's from Philadelphia . Nothing, the man said. Braxton said he knew the man was lying because of the way he moved his eyes. The sergeant tore an American flag Velcro patch from his sleeve and told the Iraqi to hold it to his chest. Then another soldier used a digital camera to take a picture of the man.

"So we've got a picture of you holding an American flag now," Braxton said. He told the man that if he didn't cooperate, the photo would be posted around the neighborhood.

It the end, it didn't appear that the soldiers gleaned any helpful information from the man. The military didn't say what happened to the detainee. A few hours later, the soldiers returned to Command Outpost Cleary, weary and disappointed.

The 3rd Brigade, based at Fort Benning, Ga. , arrived here in March and quickly pieced together four bare-essentials outposts, including Cleary, within striking distance of the region's towns and from which raids are launched.

The rest of their time is spent at Forward Operating Base Hammer, a sprawling military base 30 miles east of Baghdad where dust devils spin across the layered sand. The troops live in 12-person tents bordered by 3-foot-tall sandbag barriers.

Col. Wayne Grigsby , of Prince George's County, Md ., the brigade's commander, ticks off his troops' accomplishments since June: 86 "knuckleheads" killed and 186 detained; 50 homemade bombs disarmed and 21 weapons caches discovered; 100 boats— used by Sunnis to transport weapons up the Tigris to Baghdad — destroyed.

"People ask me is the surge working, I say, 'How can it not work?' You've got eight companies sitting in a place where there was one company before," he said.

After months of interacting daily with municipal governments and providing economic relief, the military has begun to earn Iraqis' trust, he said. Now tips about suspected insurgents come in regularly from townspeople.

Grigsby keeps the entryway to his office decorated with red, white and blue balloons and a sign that reads: "Git 'R Done!" Beside his desk stands a metal rocket launcher that his troops recovered from an insurgent safe house last month. Insurgents used the launcher and others like it to fire a hail of rockets at FOB Hammer on July 11 , killing one soldier. It's an odd piece of memorabilia, a constant reminder of how aggressive and resourceful the enemy can be.

Grigsby is optimistic about his troops' work, but he also knows that they're going home in less than nine months and that the effort will have been for naught if the Iraqis don't pick up the slack. So far, Iraqi police don't patrol any part of the region without the military's help.

In late June, the 3rd Brigade turned over control of an abandoned Pepsi factory in Salman Pak — the largest city in the region— to Iraqi police so they could use it as a checkpoint and patrol base. Three hours after U.S. forces left, insurgents swarmed the factory in broad daylight and took control.

"The surge isn't going on forever, so who's going to take our place?" Grigsby asked. "The key is the Iraqi security forces; that is the key. We've worked our butts off up here and lost some great soldiers. At some point, they've got to bring it so they can live in a peaceful nation."

Staff Sgt. Bobby Dorsey , who's based in Command Outpost Cleary and is from Norman Park, Ga. , said Iraqi police increasingly were handling problems themselves instead of calling on U.S. troops for help. But he wonders how long it will take for them to become completely independent.

"It's a slow process when you're trying to help develop a police force and government that's self-sustaining," said Dorsey, 26. "It's going to take a little longer. I don't know how long (U.S. troops) will be here. It could be one week, it could be 10 years."

Meanwhile, Dorsey and other soldiers continue to put their lives at risk.

During a seven-Humvee convoy trip from FOB Hammer to Command Outpost Cleary, Spc. Christopher Shelly , from Austell, Ga. , manned the seventh Humvee's gun. He kept a wary eye on his surroundings.

"You see those two light poles over there; there's a pile of dirt between them," he said over the Humvee's communications system. Every bump, mound or piece of debris could mean an explosively formed projectile, designed to pierce Humvees' armor.

Shelly decided that the pile of dirt wasn't a danger— "It's probably too far off from the road"— but his caution shows how wary troops are of the roadside bombs.

Maj. Joe Sowers , a public affairs officer from Richmond, Ind. , said that during his first tour in 2004, "there was no such thing" as EFPs, which the U.S. military says that the Iranian military supplies.

"Us and the insurgents have grown together," Sowers said. "It's a deadly little dance we're doing, and they're improving."

It's not just the roadside bombs that kill.

Standing in FOB Hammer's conference room, Sowers pointed to a wall with framed photos of 19 soldiers from the 3rd Brigade who've been killed in action. He ticked off the way they died: "I was on this patrol. It was an EFP," Sowers said, pointing to one of the photos. "This one was small-arms fire. This one was a crush-wire IED (improvised explosive device). This one was a rocket. This one was a sniper."


( Collins reports for The Fresno Bee.)

Night Raid Successful With Close Call

Staff Sgt. William Piper, squad leader for squad A, 2nd platoon, Troop B, 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, gets ready to leave Combat Outpost Cashe and return to Forward Operating Base Hammer Aug. 24.

By Spc. Ben Hutto, 3rd HBCT Public Affairs
Sep 1, 2007 - 4:12:55 PM

Blackanthem Military News

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – It was several hours before the scouts of 2nd platoon, Troop B, 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment were set to go on a night raid Aug. 24, and all appeared to be normal.

Scouts listened to music, took naps and watched movies on their computers. Occasionally one member of the troop would become the object of the group’s good-natured ribbing.

“If you are part of this group, you better be ready for jokes at your expense,” said Sgt. Thomas Young, a team leader in Troop B. “We give each other a hard time, but it’s all in fun. You can’t take it too seriously. If you do, you are just gonna get more of it.”

The light mood is briefly interrupted by Staff Sgt. William Piper, a section leader in 2nd platoon.

“Everyone out front for walk-throughs,” he ordered his men.

Everyone in the room put away what they were doing and woke up the few scouts that were napping. They filed through the halls of the Tactical Operations Center at Combat Outpost Cashe to a dry-erase board set up near the entrance of the building.

A rough map was drawn beside a list of names and times on the board. The scouts surrounded the board and 1st Lt. Mike Barth, platoon leader of 2nd platoon, and waited for the meeting to begin.

“How’s everyone doing?” Barth asked. “Here is what we have going on tonight.”

With quick and precise language, the platoon leader outlined the mission, the target and the logistics of the night’s operation. The room was silent except for his voice.

“We have to get in fast, blow that door and get in there,” Barth said. “I want you guys dropping the ramp on that Bradley before it stops. This has to be fast tonight. This is a bad guy. We want to get in there, get him and get out. Any questions?”

Several Soldiers, ranging in rank from staff sergeant to private first class, asked questions about the route out and where they were supposed to set up. They offered suggestions on how the plan could be made better. Some were implemented, some were not.

Before everyone took off, Barth asked one of his Soldiers a question.

“What is the name of our target?” he asked.

After a few moments of silence, the Soldier smiled and said he could not remember. The process was repeated a few more times before someone answered correctly.

Barth smiled.

“Make sure we all know this stuff,” he said. “We have to know our route in and out, our target’s name and where everyone is. We’ll go over it again before we leave. Make sure your kits are good to go. Get to it.”

As quickly as the meeting started, it was over.

Back in the barracks, the scouts of Troop B started filling camelbacks and taping infrared chemical lights to the back of their gear. Music played in the background, as they went back to joking with one another. In the midst of all the preparation, drivers and gunners went out to their vehicles to conduct their pre-combat checks.

“We’ve been together a long time,” said Spc. Thomas Monk, Barth’s gunner. “We are a tight knit group. We all joke and play with one another, but when it is time to go to work, we are all business. You have to get serious and focused come game time.”

Five hours later, everyone was ready to go. Exactly as Monk promised, everyone in the platoon was serious and focused. No one in the troop answered a question wrong. Equipment was checked by a team leader to make sure he had everything. The inspection went perfectly; all scouts passed inspection.

“All right, everyone out to the vehicles,” said Barth. “We SP in 30 minutes.”

This type of intricate planning isn’t unusual for the troopers.

“We conduct an extensive amount of preparation,” said Barth. “It’s all based on the intel we have. We are as safe and effective as we can possibly be. The more we can plan and rehearse, the more we can mitigate risk.”

Walking outside, most of the scouts had already loaded up into their vehicles. A few made last minute adjustments to their gear.

Night fell, but the moon provided enough light for the scouts to see.

“I like the night,” said Monk. “There are fewer people on the streets and if they are out there, they probably shouldn’t be. It makes our job easier.”

Barth agreed.

“During the day, it is much harder to tell who’s good and bad,” he said. “We also have an advantage on the enemy, because we are better equipped to fight at night.”

That point was drilled in as the platoon exited the gates of COP Cashe and started moving toward their target in Jisr Diyala. One by one the headlights of the vehicles go out. The rest of the way into Jisr Diyala was completed under the cover of darkness.

Through the lenses of their night vision goggles, scouts negotiated the roads of the neighborhood to get to their target. Over the radio, Barth was notified that the cordon protecting the scouts was set. As they pulled up to the house, the ramps on the Bradley’s came down and troops poured out.

The first team started clearing the wrong house, but Barth sprang forward.

“I need people on this house now!” he said as he runs up to the correct house. “We have to get in here. Open that gate and let’s get in there.”

The lock on the gate was quickly cut and scouts filed into the courtyard and cleared it. Within moments, they were in the house and clearing rooms. The plan was altered because of the earlier mistake, but Troop B rolled with it.

Piper took control and directed traffic in the house. He put all the women and children living in the house in one room and told his team to begin searching for contraband. Room by room the scouts meticulously searched for anything that was not supposed to be there, but the clock was ticking.

A loud explosion a few minutes later caused everyone’s head to snap up for a moment. Barth stayed on the radio.

“They are using rocket propelled grenades!” he shouted. “The cordon is returning fire. We’ve got to hurry. Sgt. Piper, you have 10 minutes!”

Piper’s men continued their search as the echo of small arms fire came from a few blocks over. When Barth told everyone that it was time to get back to the vehicles, the scouts quickly complied. The target was not there.

The scouts quickly mounted up, and the vehicles took off. Headlights blazing, the vehicles quickly moved through the streets. There was no attempt to hide at that point. Platoon B was trying to get back to Cashe as quickly as possible.

Scouts in the lead Bradley sat shoulder-to-shoulder through the rattling ride. Nobody tried to speak over the roar of the tracks, but when a flash temporarily lit up the back of the vehicle everyone perked up. Before they made it back to Cashe, two RPGs were fired at them. Luckily, both of them missed.

When everyone returned to COB Cashe, they began clearing their weapons and talking about what happened.

“I saw that rocket go across your vehicle,” said Sgt. William Morris, one of the Bradley commanders in the convoy, to the scouts riding in the back of the lead vehicle. “That was a close one.”

Barth called everyone over and explained how the mission went. The target was apprehended by Soldiers in the cordon as he attempted to get away from his house. Piper’s scouts found an AK-47, ammunition, several cell phones and large sums of cash. One of the cell phones contained some images that implicate the target in several illegal acts.

“Good job guys,” Barth said. “We got a really bad guy tonight.”

As his troop headed back to their sleeping quarters, Barth reflected on what happened.

“This isn’t typical scout stuff,” Barth said. “These guys are doing a lot of things that are typically infantrymen stuff, but they are doing great.”

Barth is quick to point out that he is proud of how they performed, despite the mistake his Soldiers made.

“We had a great rehearsal, but when we got out there things changed and we had to adapt,” he said. “It was a complex mission, but we got through it and accomplished our mission.”

Barth explained why he was never worried through out the operation.

“The most important thing I can do is use our experience,” he said. “I wholeheartedly trust my guys’ ability to make decisions on the ground and I give them the freedom to do that.”

Morris appreciates his platoon leader’s faith in him.

“The leadership lets us focus on what we have to do,” Morris said. “There’s no yelling or micromanaging out here. It’s good to have that trust.”

The 3rd Squadron, 1st Cav. Regt. of the 3rd HBCT are assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division, from Fort Stewart, Ga. The brigade is from Fort Benning, Ga.

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