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DEL.ICIO.US48th will range widely in new Iraq security role
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Camp Striker, Iraq — The 48th Brigade Combat Team’s new mission in Iraq will involve providing security for major highways and bases throughout the country, brigade officials said Wednesday.
Instead of patrolling and securing specific areas of Iraq, the 4,500 soldiers in the Georgia Army National Guard unit will be splintered among several camps and will focus more on security than on combat missions.
“This is a totally separate and different mission,” said Lt. Col. Mark London, the brigade’s operations officer. “This is a theater security mission.”
London said one of the 48th’s four combat battalions would be dedicated solely to convoy security.
Another will be posted at a base north of Baghdad to provide base security, while a third will go to Tallil Air Base in southern Iraq as a security force for that facility.
The fourth combat battalion will head west near the Syrian border to work with multinational coalition forces. That battalion will be the only one responsible for controlling a specific piece of terrain.
London declined to say which battalions would be assigned to which areas for operational security reasons.
But it is believed that the 1st Battalion, 118th Field Artillery Regiment, out of Springfield, will be moving to Camp Anaconda near Balad, north of Baghdad. The battalion currently is stationed at Camp Taji, in the same vicinity.
“It’s not like we are being pulled out of combat into a noncombat role,” London said. “We have convoys hit every day by IEDs [improvised explosive devices], or they get ambushed.”
The brigade headquarters will be located at Tallil, but there will be a forward command post located north of Baghdad.
The 48th is picking up duties from the 56th Brigade Combat Team from Texas, which is due to return to the United States at the end of the year. The 2nd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, based at Fort Campbell, Ky., is scheduled to take over control of the southwest Baghdad area from the 48th.
Since its arrival in Iraq in early June for a yearlong tour, the 48th has been responsible for a large area south and west of Baghdad International Airport. Some of this area stretches into what is known as the Triangle of Death because of the anti-American insurgency, fueled largely by the predominantly Sunni Muslim population.
The brigade has been engaged in missions to snuff out insurgent activity and promote reconstruction and civil affairs projects. Much of that activity will stop when it shifts gears.
Brigade Command Sgt. Major James Nelson said officers were doing all they could to keep platoons together when the 48th is dispersed.
“We try to keep teams together whenever possible,” he said.
But the prospect of being separated from platoon mates or battle buddies concerned some soldiers at Camp Striker as details of the big move began trickling down into the tents.
“Separating us now is like taking away our backbone,” said Sgt. Rufus Veal of the Dublin-based Alpha Company of the 148th Support Battalion. “We’re like family. We need each other.”
Soldiers from the brigade’s support units will be sent wherever they are needed to supply the four combat battalions, London said. That means that companies of the 148th Support Battalion might be split up after having trained and deployed together for 10 months.
London said the 48th’s move was part of the military’s plan to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Iraq.
“As we stand up Iraqi units and as their numbers go up, ours go down,” London said. “As Iraqi security forces increase, they have to restructure the battle space. And as [U.S.] units move out, they have to restructure other units to cover them.”
Another National Guard unit that was providing convoy and base security — the 29th Brigade Combat Team from Hawaii — also is scheduled to leave Iraq by December or January.
Both the 56th BCT and the 29th BCT are conducting “critical security missions” that the 48th soldiers will assume in the weeks ahead.
No timetable has been given for the moves, but in an earlier interview Brig. Gen. Stewart Rodeheaver, commander of the 48th, said they were likely to happen in the next two months.
There are about 17 U.S. combat brigades in Iraq and a total of about 135,000 soldiers. Senior military officials recently told The Washington Post that a reduction of American forces was possible after the Iraqi national elections in December, depending on the training of Iraqi soldiers and the intensity of violence in the country.
London said 48th officials expected their role change because the Georgia soldiers came into Iraq under an off-cycle rotation. The brigade entered Iraq almost six months after the 3rd Infantry Division, to which it is now attached, and had planned for a new mission to begin as the Fort Stewart-based unit began returning home in December.
“We came in five to six months after the 3rd ID,” London said. “That’s why we got caught between two missions.”
London acknowledged the 48th would be widely scattered but said retaining command of such a large unit should not be a problem because of current technological advances in communications.
“It will obviously be more difficult,” he said. “But really, it’s no different than us talking to the 108th in Mahmudiyah.”
Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 108th Armor Regiment, have been based in three forward operating bases located in Mahmudiyah, Lutafiyah and Yusufiyah, near the Euphrates River south of Baghdad.
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By soldier's friend
September 22, 2005 12:26 PM | Link to this
Wanna bet the troops at the FOB’s with the worst conditions get sent to the worst ones again?
By Terry
September 22, 2005 05:53 PM | Link to this
If they do give the FOB soldiers the worst assignments again, then we’ll be sure that those fine soldiers are truly on somebody’s “list”.
I am still angry about the General sending a letter right after they got to those FOBs claiming that all of the soldiers had phone and internet. It wasn’t true then and it isn’t true now.
I would estimate that one FOB has had internet service for only 3 weeks out of the past 3-1/2 months - and what they had was provided by a local Iraqi. The US Army has never bothered to provide internet service for the soldiers, even though it exists at the FOB.
The phone service has been pitiful - but I guess someone who doesn’t care can say that it exists. It takes 30-45 minutes of constant attempts to get a line through - and then the connection may be so bad that you spend the whole conversation saying “what did you say?” Some phone service!
I’m proud of our soldiers but not impressed with the way the US Army has supported them. I can understand the disparities when a new FOB is being setup, but not after nearly 4 months.
By You betcha
September 22, 2005 10:05 PM | Link to this
Soldier’s friend, I would say I would bet you, however, I am with you so I can’t do that!!!
By jds
September 23, 2005 12:00 AM | Link to this
Yea, I’m waiting to see how that plays out too. Got my eye on the bama boys. Let’s see if they draw the short straw AGAIN???
By Waiting
September 23, 2005 07:59 PM | Link to this
The job that our FOB soldiers have been doing has been mostly ignored and at best played down. I have no doubt that our front line, patrolling, mission-going, insurgent-nabbing 1st Battalion, 108th Armor will “draw” the most dangerous assignment with the worst living conditions. If this takes place as feared, I’m going to be one angry,upset,VOICE.
By your voice
September 24, 2005 07:29 AM | Link to this
waiting, not only will you be upset so will the families of the 108th and if it does happen that you get sent to the worst place again, I for one will be a VOICE for you and instead of being quiet and only venting here in the comments out of fear of retribution to my soldier this time I won’t stop writing letters to congressmen and making phone calls. I pray this won’t be necessary. Maybe we will all be wrong in our suspicions. Maybe all the bases will be nice and nobody in the 48th will have to suffer.
By HCP
September 24, 2005 12:35 PM | Link to this
It’s going to be very interesting to see how the missions are assigned this go round. Like all of you, I have my bets out too, and I can tell you that if the Roe and Joe units get the crap missions AGAIN…there’s going to be more noise than then this man’s Army has ever heard!
By Allan
September 25, 2005 01:15 PM | Link to this
Never say “it can’t get worse” because it will.
The Time Magazine article by Joe Klein listed all of the “lessons of Vietnam” that we seemed to have forgotten, but he left one out because his article was written too soon.
One of the “lessons of Vietnam” I thought we learned was the “Unit Integrity” concept where you minimized troop rotation within a unit to maximize the unit’s cohesiveness and effectiveness. Under pressure a unit will fight to protect “its buddies” even more than because of the orders from its commanders. By displacing and distributing the members of the 48th into other combat units even to the point of breaking up the platoons of the 48th, that unit cohesiveness is going to be lost. I am already starting to pray for lives of our soldiers that will be lost because of this bureaucratic stupidity.
By my name is faith
September 26, 2005 02:52 AM | Link to this
Terry, I know which FOB you are talking about. No internet, no phones…and vanishing mail. A package sent over two months ago, has mysteriously been lost, or somehow vanished. Add insult to injury
Although, rest assured, Terry, it seems that most of the soldiers from the FOB’S make it to the chow hall at Stryker for the Friday steak and lobster at the new grill. Some, make it for breakfast and dinner!!! Check out the new photo of the grill, makes my mouth water just thinking about it. I guess most of the soldiers that are going, have developed some sort of amneisia, because they sure dont remember going. Probably the same case with the internet….total amneisia.
Sarcasim and humour…almost as good as the steak and lobster, the internet and phones. At times I think we would all be better off not reading any of the articles.
By me
September 26, 2005 09:43 AM | Link to this
Good comments Allan and Faith
By my name is faith
September 26, 2005 02:07 PM | Link to this
Postnote….Thanks for all the hard work that you guys at the FOB’S do. A close freind of my FOB soldier ( a fellow 48th soldier, in Stryker) is upset that he can’t be there with all you dusty, sleep deprived guys.
You all will be home soon enough, so we can close our eyes, and grab the dashboards while you aggresivly drive little old ladies off the road. Better yet, no car keys for a while! Keep up the good work, be safe and bless you, and all the soldiers of the 48th.
By Mom of an FOB soldier
September 30, 2005 01:58 AM | Link to this
They are going to a better place??? No - they were promised - made to pack up and head out - doing a mission in the mean time and as soon as the mission is done - they are sent back, with the message that not only are they not going anywhere, but that the polls will be in their base - if thats what you want to call it and they will never go to the place they have been promised for almost two months. So what are we going to do about it. How much can these kids go thru before giving up???? Please help. They all need it. Talking about the Alabama boys and more.
By a friend
September 30, 2005 02:07 PM | Link to this
Mom of Fob soldier, my friend said that she heard from her soldier at row today and he says they are still scheduled to leave there in a couple of weeks. That was in an e-mail today. Is your son at Joe or Row.
By 48th family member
September 30, 2005 10:16 PM | Link to this
Such whining. We are all afraid for our soldiers as are the families of every soldier, marine, sailor,etc. over there. Let’s not do our soldiers a diservice by complaining all the time. The whining does not support them, it makes them worry. Be proud, be afraid but find positive ways to support!
By soldier's friend
October 4, 2005 09:23 AM | Link to this
well,well,well I googled Camp Anaconda. A nice base evidently. Trailers to live in, swimming pools, 4 chow halls, etc.etc. Who is scheduled to go there, not the troops from joe and row who sure deserve better conditions after living the way they have had to for the past 4 months, instead it looks like the troops from Taji will once again get the best and more than likely the joes and rows will spend the rest of their tour at a crap base once again. These guys deserve a break, I hope I am wrong but after reading this article again,the way I see it , it looks pretty grim.
By Michael Wife
October 4, 2005 10:47 PM | Link to this
Soldier’s friend, you are absolutely correct. There is no help for Row, Joe, and Michael. They are going to more crap bases, I looked up the one my husband is going to and it sounds no better than where he is at. To “48th family member”, I guess you are not complaining because your soldier is sitting up at the country club bases swimming, eating, playing tennis etc. If you had someone in the holes we had then you might say something too. Why is it whining when we want better for our soldiers??? General Rodeheaver is not doing anything that was not already going to happen any way. Typical wag the dog, the troops on the front had to rotate after 6 months anyway. Don’t tell me what to feel or how to act, I am 200% supporting them by wanting better conditions for them. For those of you that say “this is a war” blah blah blah. Well, you are very true and if the bases were all the same way and everyone did without, then I would not have a problem. However, that is not the case. What makes over half of the 48th so lucky that they get to sit up in the lap of luxury while the others bust their butts daily to stay alive? How can anyone ever really know about anything if no one speaks out? If you want to sit back on your behind and let the army serve you up some bull and swallow it that is your business. Don’t tell me what or what not to say, or what is or is not supportive because I will make that determination for myself. Thank God this is America so I can speak out, and then you can cut up everything I say.