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DEL.ICIO.USDeaths hit remote base hard
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Forward Operating Base Michael, Iraq — The deaths earlier this week of four soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 108th Armor Regiment, hit those stationed at this remote base especially hard.
The four were scouts and scouts are naturally closer to one another because of the type of work they do, said Staff Sgt. Sean Sibert. Typically, scouts run reconnaissance patrols to secure treacherous roads before military convoys head out.
Bita Honarvar/AJC
Capt. Michael Barnett of Loganville, with the 1st Battalion, 108th Armor Regiment, wears spurs, a cavalry tradition, during Friday’s memorial service.
“We go out in small groups to find the enemy,” said Sibert, a landscaper from Martinez, near Augusta. “That makes us a very tight group.”
But part of their closeness, said 108th soldiers posted here, also is a result of the harsh conditions under which they operate.
These soldiers have been enduring spartan facilities at the three FOBs they occupy; one here, one in nearby in Lutafiyah and another at Yusufiyah. The soldiers are not privvy to the distractions and entertainment options available at other more permanent facilities such as Striker, Liberty or Taji.
“Being here is like going from Manhattan to the wild, wild West,” said Staff Sgt, Joe Wilson, a fulltime Guard soldier from Canton, who is assigned to the battalion’s Headquarters Company.
The FOBs are located in an area of lawlessness and insurgent activity. At Michael, the 118th Field Artillery Regiment’s Alpha Battery from Springfield has four Paladin 155mm howitzers ready to fire in any direction. Capt. Jeff Schneider, the battery commander, said the guns are fired almost every day to counter insurgent fire or thwart potential attacks.
Soldiers at the three FOBs are required to wear body armor and helmets at all times because of the frequent attacks.
Lt. Col. John King, commander of armor battalion, said his soldiers are under constant enemy watch. At other camps, he said, soldiers behave one way when they are “inside the wire,” in the relative safety of the base and go into war mode when they exit the gates. At his FOBs, however, there is no “on-off switch.”
Bita Honarvar/AJC
Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Anzano of Columbus, Ga., attends memorial service.
Communications, too, are sketchy for 108th soldiers. At Yusufiyah, the Internet connection is far from reliable. Soldiers there live inside an old potato factory, share two wooden shower facilities and have salvaged a Ping Pong table for relaxation. They tend to rely more on each other when they cannot talk to loved ones at home.
“It’s a morale kicker,” said Spc. Joshua Lee Oxford, who works as a code enforcement officer in the Griffin Police Department. “It’s hard being under these conditions. When a soldier dies, it’s not like a friend dying - it’s like losing a family member. All we have here is each other to depend on.”
A few days earlier Oxford had heard from a friend, Spc. Rodney Davidson, a soldier in Alpha Company of the 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, which lost eight men from the same platoon within six days in late July. Davidson had witnessed both tragedies.
Oxford and Davidson often hunt deer and wild turkey together in Thomaston. Davidson had talked about the deaths of his friends. Oxford said they had “hit him hard.”
Now, it was Oxford’s time to feel that kind of grief.
“Before, you’d think [about the danger] real quick on your way to the vehicle,” Oxford said. “Now you actually stop and take a minute to pray.”
Soldiers held a memorial service Friday to remember those who died; Sgt. Thomas Strickland, 27, of Douglasville; Spc. Joshua Dingler, 19, of Hiram; and Sgt. Paul Saylor, 21, of Bremen; and Sgt. Michael Stokely, 23, of Loganville.
After the tears that were shed during the service, two of Stokely’s friends, Cpl. Jeffrey Vennemann and Spc. Jason Buice, traded stories about their buddy. They were known as a trio. Each had ignored Army hair regulations and launched a contest to see who could grow their hair the longest.
Bita Honarvar/AJC
A 48th soldier holds the dog tags of Sgt. Paul Saylor.
“There’s no barber shop where we are,” said Buice, who lives in Cumming.
They remembered their fallen friend as a “being one of a kind” who always spoke his mind. They remembered, too, the prankster in him. “Stokely put a mousetrap in my bunk once,” Buice said.
He laughed as he described how the trap got him in the behind when he was wearing just his Army-issue black shorts.
The soldiers said the Yusufiyah base is being renamed FOB Stokely to honor their friend. As disheveled and tired as he was, Vennemann found it in him to make one last joke about the only military man with whom he shared his fears and frustrations.
“Yeah,” said Vennemann, “they’re going to name a craphole after a great guy.”
Comments
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By jeannie
August 19, 2005 09:22 PM | Link to this
Scouts-we are with you all.. Since this unit is so small and close, when you know one, you always know another and another, so we all are One Body.. It’s times like these when we are a family- just cause we are not married to a Scout member and we don’t share the same mother or father—We are Still a Family… I know many of the Scouts and my daughter is so In Love with a few of them.. Thank you all for everything that you have done.. Stand Tall and Proud cause you are Hero’s to one little girl, who can’t wait for your return… She loves you all and she misses her daddy nightly.. She sleeps with his sweater-the last thing he wore before he left for Iraq—and she holds her pictures and dog tags every day..(Spc.Chad Cater)
By jo
August 20, 2005 08:42 AM | Link to this
Our continued thoughts and prayers go out to all families/loved ones. Jo~
By a soldier's family
August 20, 2005 10:57 AM | Link to this
Although you may be in the most austere conditiions, please never forget that you are in our prayers daily.
By IRES ALLISTON
August 20, 2005 01:58 PM | Link to this
Each day we pray to GOD for all the soldiers for blessing each one of you with the strength, the courage, the hope, the faith, and safety. We thank you for your sacrifices, your dedication, commitment, and may GOD give you more strength and power to deal with your daily tasks and bless you with good mental and physical health during and after this ordeal. We are very proud of you, we stand behind you and always remember you are not just soldiers, you are also our HEROES! We salute you, we honor you in our hearts and minds, and we cannot wait for your return home. Spc. Alliston, we love you dearly, we miss you tremendously, always remember that! Families, Friends & Associates. Aug. 20, 2005
By Andrew Head
August 20, 2005 04:10 PM | Link to this
Stokley we will miss you but you are always in our heart. We will see you at Fiddlers Green. Trp E, 108th Cav
By Rachel Elliott
August 20, 2005 04:23 PM | Link to this
Mike Stokely was one of my closest friends in the world, and had been since we were in the seventh grade. Mike was one of the most dependable people I have ever come across. His word was as good as gold, and you knew you could count on him for anything. He was patriotic, and his goal for as long as I can remember was to serve his country. He was selfless; he was not concerned for his own safety when in Iraq, but he was simply concerned about how his mom would hold up while he was over there. His contagious laughter and kind spirit will be sorely missed, and there will forever be a void in the lives of all that knew him. For everyone that truly knew Mike could not help but love him with all of their hearts.