Task Force 2-7 IN Newsletters
ABLE 6 Sends (Jan 08):
Happy New Year from the western desert of Al Anbar Province, Iraq! Though we all wish we could have celebrated the New Year with family and friends back home, we had another cause to celebrate since the arrival of the New Year also marked a significant milestone in our deployment – less than 100 days remaining! In fact, by early March, we expect to be relieved in place by another unit so we can begin the 3-week long process of turning in the majority of our equipment in preparation for our final movement to Kuwait. Though we remain focused on the mission at hand, there is certainly a light now visible at the end of our 15-month tunnel – and that’s a helpful source of motivation on those cold desert nights!
The weather remained reasonably mild through mid-December with temperatures in the 60s during the day and the low 40s at night, but winter caught up with us shortly before Christmas as temperatures began dipping below freezing quite often at night and sometimes only remaining in the 40s during the day. Fortunately, we’re experiencing a bit of a drought right now, so we haven’t had to deal with the mud of the rainy season yet…but we’re told it’s still coming.
December was another busy month for the Task Force. About half of the platoons in the task force moved to new locations – some within the same company and some in different companies. As I’ve mentioned in previous newsletters, these small moves tend to keep everyone’s head in the game and help us keep things from getting to monotonous operating out of the same checkpoints or outposts for month after month. Each remote site – whether company or platoon-sized – has some pros and cons. Some have better showers…some have more reliable electricity…some have less crowded living spaces, but the good news is that all our sites now have email and internet phone access and most have (or will have shortly) an Armed Forces Network (AFN) satellite dish for news, sports, and some decent TV re-runs. We completed the most recent round of platoon shifts just before Christmas so everyone was able to celebrate the Holidays in their new “homes.” Within a few days, platoons were settled and already applying old ideas to their new areas of responsibility. I think I even heard a few Soldiers say they were glad they had to move because in the effort to pack up all their stuff, they found several things they had been looking for!
The Task Force worked hard to make Christmas a special time here in our little corner of Iraq. Thanks to the tremendous support from families, local communities back home, and our Family Readiness Group, we had more than enough Christmas spirit at all our various sites. The CSM and I traveled to Combat Outpost Akashat to spend Christmas Eve with Team Bushmaster (B Company). Their Soldiers – and particularly their cooks – did a great job decorating and turning their “Train Station Dining Facility” into a very festive spot that night. After a series of toasts with egg nog, and even a gift exchange, were treated to a first-class Christmas Feast.
SGT Schum, SPC Clay, and SPC Biava – the Bravo Company Cooks --
pose with some of the fruits of their labors on Christmas Eve.
We were fortunate to have the Commander of Multi-National Forces-Iraq, General Petraeus, come visit us on Christmas morning. He visited Combat Outpost Norseman, the current headquarters for Team Rage (A Company) and had breakfast with Soldiers. He also presented some Commander’s Coins, reenlisted some Soldiers, and presented some combat awards. Some of you may have even caught a glimpse of us when CNN aired a short video of his visit for a couple days after Christmas. Immediately after General Petraeus departed COP Norseman, the CSM and I headed east along MSR Mobile and enjoyed a great Christmas Day meal with Team Deathrider about 2 hours down the road.
GEN Petraeus reenlists SFC Beal, SSG Peters, SPC Fast,
SPC Koonce, and SPC Gaitan on Christmas Day at COP Norseman.
Team Rage (now consisting of all three infantry platoons from A Co and the task force scout platoon) has continued over the past two months the great work begun by Team Easy in Rutbah. The mayor we helped the Iraqis identify, nominate, and elect continues to impress us with his drive and desire to challenge his city and the Provincial Government to improve. The City Council and the various subcommittees we helped establish back in September are now all Iraqi-led and are each making steady progress. Through our efforts with the various Iraqi committees, we’ve helped funnel over $500,000 worth of reconstruction funds into the city in the past 4 months. These funds have helped provide for everything from water wells, improvements to the hospital, street lights, road work, a library, and a renovated city council conference room – or town hall. The city is noticeably cleaner and the people are beginning to see a difference not just due to our efforts, but due to those of their local Iraqi leaders. The mayor and members of the city council now make almost weekly trips to the Provincial Capitol in Ramadi to personally work issues with the Anbar Provincial Government. Best of all, they now do so without our assistance or prodding. Recently, they’ve even arranged for several reconstruction projects on their own using Iraqi reconstruction funds.
The newly-renovated Rutbah City Council Conference Room and Town Hall
Coaching organization, prioritization, a sense of urgency, and most of all, integrity in the everyday running of a city of over 35,000 people is not easy, but the Rage Team and members of the Task Force Staff patiently encourage progress and continue to make a difference each week. Our Iraqi Women’s Program continues to develop and we appreciate all the tremendous support many of you have provided in the form of donations for our Women’s Union. We received literally hundreds of packages – small and large – from dozens of individuals and groups back home and now have more than enough supplies to ensure our program is well-established before we depart the Rutbah area in March.
Team Deathrider (Delta Company Headquarters, two armor platoons, and one infantry platoon) established what is now their third combat outpost from scratch. This site (COP Patton) is located in an identical water pumping station to COP Abrams along the major highway that cuts through our sector. Their presence there has once again facilitated the construction of an Iraqi Highway Patrol (IHP) station collocated with them at COP Patton. They moved their company headquarters to COP Patton (about a 2 ½ hour drive from Camp Korean Village and and maintain a platoon at COP Abrams (about a 45 minute drive east). Deathrider’s efforts to partner with the IHP have been remarkable and have certainly made a difference in securing the highway. We hope to establish two more IHP stations along “our highway” before we depart.
A newly established IHP Station using containerized housing
units inside COP Patton
Team Bushmaster (now consisting of two of their platoons and a platoon from D Co) has continued to conduct operations out of an Iraqi train station just outside the town of Akashat. They have worked hard to bring some basic level of governance to a small town with a very low level of education and income. November brought the news of an Iraqi Army Base that would be built just outside the town and has provided day labor to a large number of locals from Akashat. Even this small amount of regular income has spurred the local economy and brought hope to local shop owners and merchants who look forward to the arrival of the Iraqi Army Battalion early this spring.
The train station outside the small town of Akashat
which Team Bushmaster calls home
Team Easy (now two engineer platoons and the task force mortar platoon) has responsibility for the largest sector in the task force. They continue to search for ways to “make their slice of Iraq smaller” by enlisting the support of local tribal leaders who are willing to provide intelligence on the movements of foreigners or other insurgent activity in their areas. Our desert “neighborhood watch” is still in its infancy, but we continue to pursue relationships with influential tribal leaders in order to have an informal security network to help transition the Iraqi Army battalions who will assume responsibility for the vast desert region this spring. Team Easy also spends a good deal of time countering illegal oil smuggling – a popular money-making endeavor which also usually involves some corrupt Iraqi Police along the way. Never a dull moment!
Team Headhunter (Headquarters Company) continues to provide tremendous support to the Task Force in so many ways every day. There is simply nothing they cannot do. HHC keeps our main camp and headquarters functioning and figures out innovative ways to get the companies everything from water pumps and space heaters to gravel and AFN satellites. From processing end-of-tour awards for our great Soldiers, gathering and analyzing intelligence about insurgent activity, running the task force tactical operations center, administering flu shots, running the Iraqi Women’s Program, and so much more, the Soldiers of HHC make countless contributions to our success everyday. Soldiers from our HHC also man our Joint Coordination Center in downtown Rutbah and have recently established an ID Card and Vehicle Registration Office. This facility now operates 5 days a week with both Coalition and Iraqi staffing and provides individual ID cards with embedded biometric data (fingerprints and retinal scans) to Iraqis presenting proper documentation. Additionally, the facility offers a vehicle registration decal to those presenting proper registration information on their vehicles. As we continue to look for ways to help the Iraqis control their own population and access to their city, programs like this one are well worth the effort.
LT Kramer (L) stands with a Rutbah Citizen, and Rutbah’s
Mayor Qasim (R) as they display their new ID cards
Warrior Company (Forward Support Company) provides seamless logistics support to the largest battalion task force sector in Iraq – logging hundreds of miles each week – to ensure our Soldiers have what they need no matter how remote their location. Their ability to solve unique logistic problems is remarkable. From getting pressurized, hot water into an Iraqi train station for showers to crafting soccer goals out of scrap metal and netting, the Fox Company Team can do it all! An honorable mention goes out to the female Soldiers of Warrior Company who have been great ambassadors of our Iraqi Women’s Program!
F Co mechanics welded used fence posts together and
made soccer goals with nets to help us establish a
local youth soccer league. We think the kids liked
them…
CSM Coston and I made the 5-hour HMMWV drive to Ramadi right after Christmas and were able to watch former Task Force S2, CPT Jason Buchanon, assume command of the Brigade’s Military Intelligence Company in the Brigade Troops Battalion (1-3 BTB). We know Jason and his wife Hayley will make a great command team and wish them the best of luck.
The Task Force is making great progress on its FY 08 Reenlistment Mission as we strive to achieve our goals before 1 April 08. Seven Soldiers from the Task Force flew to Baghdad on Army Blackhawk helicopters last month to be part of a mass reenlistment by General Casey, Chief of Staff of the Army, during his Holiday visit to Iraq. We continue to encourage Soldiers to take advantage of the many reenlistment opportunities available to them – not to mention those tax-free bonuses!
SPC Wilson (HHC, 2-7 IN) shakes hands with GEN Casey following
the formal re-enlistment.
Thanks again to our excellent Rear Detachment Team, led by CPT Neil Johnson and his right hand man, newly-promoted 1SG Frank Miller, whom I was fortunate to be able to promote in front of our Battalion Headquarters while I was home on R&R Leave in November. I’d also like to extend a special thanks to the ladies (and children) of the Cottonbaler Family Readiness Group. In addition to all their typical, selfless efforts, these great ladies planned and organized a Christmas Party for the children of the Task Force at the YMCA in Hinesville in early December. In addition to playing games, decorating cookies, distributing gifts for the kids, and even enjoying a visit from Santa, they made loads of nice cards and decorations at the party and sent them forward for us to display in our camps and outposts for the Holidays. Incidentally, the Children’s Christmas party was supported by donations from members of the 7th Infantry Regiment Association and we certainly thank them for their thoughtfulness and generosity. Pictures of the party and other information on the Task Force can be found on the Association Web Site.
Just some of the great decorations sent to us by individuals,
groups, and our wonderful Family Readiness Group displayed
at our Combat Outposts at Christmas
With the Holiday Season behind us and the New Year upon us, we have renewed energy to remain on the offensive, defeat the remnants of the insurgency, push our Iraqi partners to step up more day after day, and finish our tour with the same dedication and sense of commitment we began with over a year ago. As always, we thank you all for your prayers, support, and faith in what we’re doing for the country of Iraq. Please share this newsletter with those whom you think would benefit from learning more about what’s happening “on the ground” throughout Iraq.
Until next time....
LTC Doug Crissman...Able 6
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