Gen. Petraeus visits Blue Platoon

1.24.08

Sallam H’Lakum (“Greetings”). I write the third installment of this column after having just coordinated a platoon’s operation via FM radio from my command post on the forward operating base.

Sadly, tonight’s operation did not yield the results we had planned for, but that does not make the mission a failure. What it means is that al-Qaida is thoroughly routed in our area of operations. This was not the case two nights ago when I was out with the same platoon, my third, or “Blue,” platoon. We had intelligence on the leader of an improvised-explosive-device cell and took action on that knowledge. Blue platoon executed an operation that detained the individual with speed and audacity and turned the individual over to me within 20 minutes after the action started.

Blue Platoon is led by 1st Lt. Clinton Merritt of Illinois. He is a signal officer and is branch detailed to armor. What that means is that he begins his career or completes his platoon leader time, as an armor officer. In his case, that means leading a cavalry scout platoon. Afterwards, he will transition to the Signal Corps and become a captain responsible for maintaining communications in another unit.

His platoon sergeant is Sgt. 1st Class William Jones, who has 18 years in the Army and is from Tennessee. Jones, who is 39, holds the distinction of being the oldest man in the troop. Jones is the man primarily responsible for training the platoon to be an effective combat force and is the senior advisor and mentor to Merritt. Together, they are an outstanding leadership team.

Blue Platoon has two sections led by staff sergeants: Crawford of Florida and Zlotow of Illinois. Staff Sgt. Crawford was once a Marine and worked for the National Security Agency. He is now a cavalry scout because, as he told me, “working for the NSA was boring.” I have accompanied several dismounted patrols in the neighborhoods that were led by Staff Sgt. Zlotow and, even though he’s in charge of the patrol, he always takes the “point.” He truly leads from the front.

As I’ve mentioned in earlier dispatches, Bandit Troop secures two muhallas — or Bagdad neighborhoods — nightly. As we have three platoons, there is a rotation: Blue Platoon is the one that works in both. When you add in the third muhalla that my troop operates in during the daylight, Blue Platoon becomes the only platoon in the squadron that has the opportunity to work anywhere in the entire squadron area of operations.

Changing gears a little, we have been visited a lot recently by several high ranking officers, include: Brig. Gen. Hammond, the commander of the multi-national division in Baghdad; Lt. Gen. Odierno, the commander of the multi-national corps; and Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of the multi-national force and senior ranking officer in all of Iraq.

All of these generals have been visiting the Raider Squadron Area of Operations to witness the return of normalcy here. I’d like to take credit for that success, but it was our squadron’s commanding officer — Lt. Col. Crider — and his plan and the hard work of nine platoons like Blue Platoon that has achieved this.

Success is in its infancy and can still be lost. That is why we’re diligent in our efforts to patrol constantly and continue efforts to stimulate the economy and enhance essential services such as getting electricity to the people.

Gen. Petraeus honored two of my Bandits with his personal coin. A Gen. Petraeus coin is a collectable item in the Army and will make a very nice addition to the collections of Spc. Williams, my troop armorer, and Staff Sgt. Butcher from Blue Platoon.

I previously told you about Williams, so all I’ll mention is this: When Gen. Petraeus saw the size of Williams’ arms he asked if he stored those “guns” in the arms room!

Butcher takes leadership classes via video teleconference in a course that is being taught in the U.S. to ensure that he advances with his peers who are not deployed at this time. He will also get to spend time with his father next week, as his father is a captain in the Army currently deployed to Iraq; his father is flying from his post to ours so the two can spend quality time together.

I’ll wrap up on that note as I too look forward to spending quality time with Terri and Alexandra, my wife and daughter, and all of my family, when we return home sometime this spring. Masallama (“Goodbye”).

Bandit Troop would like to give special thanks to the following people who went out of their way to send us gifts during the holiday season:
• Angela Stoddard of Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Vermont.
• Ron Clausen of the Best Western hotel, Waterbury.
• Canus of Waterbury.
• Charles O’Brien of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Morrisville chapter.
• Dr. Peter Herbert of Waterbury.
• Ms. Cindy Mason of Greenfield, Mass.
• James Adams of the New Hampshire-Vermont district of USPS.
• Staff of the USPS office of Waterbury.
• Robyn Masi of Union Bank in Stowe.
• Linda Lemay of Mary Kay.
• Mrs. Breen of BFA Fairfax Elementary School.

Christmas in Baghad brings soldiers together

12.27.07

Hello again, Waterbury. I write this having just observed my second Arabian Christmas. It wasn’t as bad some might think. Of course I’d have rather spent it with my family. Christmas was always the one holiday I tried to make it back to Vermont to spend with family. In fact, in 15 years I think I’ve only missed three — two in Baghdad and one that my wife Terri and I spent in North Carolina.

This one was, of course, my daughter Alexandra’s first and I’d like to have seen her playing with wrapping paper and smiling for all the cameras that were surely recording the event, but I made the best of the situation. I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas night watching over the mohallas, or city neighborhoods.

Normally when I go on a night patrol I add my truck to the platoons that I send on patrol as an extra vehicle. This gives me freedom of mobility to move between the two platoons I send out nightly. But on these nights I replaced one of my crews and gave at least four of my Bandits a night off to call their families or rest up as best they could. It wasn’t just me giving up a holiday night to relieve these men; my crew was there with me. I’d like to make them the center of this column as not a one of them said a word about giving up their holiday so another crew could stay in.

My crew travels around the battlefield in my vehicle ensuring I get where I need to be safely. They start each mission about an hour before I do. They prepare the vehicle by mounting my .50-caliber machine gun, ensuring the radios have the right loads in them, packing the food and water, cleaning the windshield, and stowing any special equipment I deem essential for each particular mission.

When I show up for each mission briefing, my vehicle is always in running order or “fully mission capable,” as we say. There is often a “little gift” waiting for me in my seat, whether it’s some candy, a cup of coffee, or a rubber chicken. Whatever it is, it either makes me laugh or brings a tiny smile to my face at the least.

Spc. Woods is my driver. He’s responsible for ensuring the vehicle itself is in good working order. He’s a 33-year-old first-termer from California and reminds me of … well, me. That’s because we’re both in our 30s, yet can still hang with the “young bucks.” You’d think that being older than most of my Bandits he’d be more reserved, but he still manages to make sure the mirror on my door doesn’t go a single mission without bumping into something!

Spc. Williams, a 26-year-old first-termer, is my troop armorer. He’s from New Hampshire and responsible for all the weapons in the entire troop, and as such he is my gunner. He has the best view in the truck because he stands in the middle of it with his upper body exposed to the elements (and smells) in the turret. He can slew back and forth and look in any direction ensuring our machine gun, “The Darkness,” as he calls it, covers anything that might be a threat to us.

Sgt. Hartman from Illinois is 24, and on his second enlistment. He is my troop fire support noncommissioned officer. Since we’re in the middle of the city and don’t call for much indirect fire, his main responsibility has shifted to being my “ranger buddy.” That means that wherever I go, he goes, and watches my back. When I dismount the vehicle and patrol on foot with one of the platoons, he’s there with me. When I enter a building to meet with a sheik or interview a resident, he goes first and makes sure it’s safe. He’s always “got my back.” Since he is always with me, he is always “in the know” about what’s going on. This unfortunate fact has gained him another duty of taking care of most of the paperwork I generate when I’m out and about in the mohallas. None of this stuff is what he joined up for, I’m sure, but he gets it all done and doesn’t complain.

The four of us have spent many a night staring out the windows of our truck at the streets of Baghdad, watching for curfew violators, weapons smugglers, people placing improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, or other all-around bad people who might do harm to either us or the residents of the mohalla. Oddly enough, this can get incredibly boring, but boring is GOOD. We pass the time telling tales of girls, school, or playing the “name game” to stay alert.
These three men and I have developed the kind of closeness you can only get from spending eight to nine hours a night in a truck with the same guys. If you think about it for a minute, you’ll see what I’m getting at. There are no rest areas on the streets and Spc. Williams is in a harness that keeps him from falling out of the truck if it rolls over — that’s right — now you get it, no one “goes” anywhere alone.

When a patrol is over and I dismount to turn in a report or start movement on whatever new course of action has developed from this mission, my crew is still hard at work. They have to stow all our equipment, refuel the truck, order or replace any new parts that the truck needs and lock it up safely before our next mission. This can take anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours, depending on what the vehicle needs.

These three men take care of everything I need to go out in the streets and do my job. I couldn’t get anything accomplished without them, and we’re doing plenty, but I’ll save that for another installment. I just wanted to share with you a little something about with whom I spent my second Arabian Christmas.

On the frontlines with the Bandits

12.13.07

Greetings, Waterbury. I trust this will reach you all well and safe and hopefully enjoying a beautifully white holiday season.

I recently took command of Bravo Troop (Bandits), 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment from FT Riley, KS, currently deployed to FOB Falcon, in Baghdad, Iraq. I thought with the holiday season coming and the emphasis always placed on deployed soldiers during the holidays by the media that I might take the opportunity to write “from the front” about my Bandits and the incredible job they have done thus far in Baghdad as part of “the surge.”

The U.S. Cavalry is an interesting organization as it is not a branch unto itself. It is comprised of a mixture of soldiers from armor and infantry. It is my first experience with cavalry in 15 years of service. Our squadron commander, Lt. Col. James Crider, is an infantryman, while his executive officer is Maj. Timothy Baer, an armor officer. I am an infantryman and command Bandit Troop, one of two CAV troops (there is a third that is infantry) while my executive officer, 1st Lt. Andrew Rinehart, and three platoon leaders, 1st Lt. Travis Myers, 1st Lt. Clinton Merritt, and Sgt. 1st Class Kevin Wheeler are all armor. In fact, there is only one other infantryman in my troop, Pfc. Nikel Badovinac, or “BAD” as we call him.

Commanding CAV Scouts sounded like an interesting challenge when I was first notified about it. The challenge has since proved not to be how to command armor soldiers, but more of how to do more with less, a challenge I lean solidly on my first sergeant, Samuel Roark, to help me accomplish.

Nearly all soldiers who traverse about in the city are being utilized as infantrymen, something I am overly familiar with as this is my second tour in the Rashid Security District. The cavalry is designed to be a reconnaissance asset and therefore has only about two-thirds the number of soldiers I would have if this were an infantry unit.

That has not stopped my Bandits from overcoming all obstacles that stood in their path. These men have fought and bled in places with names like Abu T’shir, Mechanix, Saha, Five Farms and are currently holding securely onto an area called Masafee on the eastern flank of the Doura Market. You may have heard of some of these places recently as Geraldo Rivera, and FOX and Friends recently broadcast live from Masafee and Doura.

Our task is to secure Masafee, on the eastern flank of Doura, which is the primary focus of the entire Army at this time. Securing Masafee was no easy task, but the troopers of this squadron pacified the area in three short months, business is beginning to thrive and displaced residents are returning to their homes again.

My Bandits are responsible for our entire squadron’s area of operation every night. While our two sister troops maintain law and order and restore essential services in one Muhalla (neighborhood) each during the day, we secure both those Muhalla’s at night and a third that we are responsible for restoring essential services to during the day.

As I said, we’re doing more with less. The soldiers in all three troops take great pride in the fact that when they first entered the Hayy (sort of like a borough) of Masafee, AQIZ (al Qaeda in Iraq) was fully entrenched in these neighborhoods. AQIZ was so entrenched that the squadron encountered eight improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, in the first seven days. But with the insight of our leaders and the skill of our men at hunting down insurgents, we’ve all but routed AQIZ and other terrorists from Masafee and haven’t faced an enemy-initiated event in over two months. On top of that, we have nearly an 85 percent conviction rate for detainees — the highest of any unit in the brigade of over 4,000 soldiers.

I am hoping to continue this column to give you an insight to what’s happening here from a soldier’s point of view, and introducing my Bandits to you as I do so. I’d like to take this time to introduce my Bandits who are from Vermont.

First there is 1st Lt. Myers, an Air Force brat and graduate of Castleton, my 1st platoon leader. While he traveled around as the son of an Air Force lieutenant colonel, he considers Vermont to be his home and wants to get a job with the state of Vermont when he gets out of the Army.
Next there is … me!

As you enjoy your holidays with your families — and I stress that, ENJOY your time with family — take a moment to pray for my brave men and remember the three Bandits who have made the ultimate sacrifice: Pfc. Michael Pittman, 34, of Iowa; Pfc. Aaron Genevie, 22, of Pennsylvania; and Pvt. William Johnson, 22, of North Carolina.