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Saturday, October 22, 2005
Flying Red Dog Air with the 101st
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lutayfiyah, Iraq - The cords insurgents often use to detonate their bombs are bright red. Be on the lookout for them along roadsides.
Be respectful when you interview Iraqi women. Most are honest and will give you tips about insurgents.
And watch for pigeons taking flight as you enter towns. Insurgents use them to signal you are coming.
Louie Favorite/AJC
Soldiers of the 48th and 101st searched this car and its occupants because the car fit the description of one known to have been used by insurgents. More photos
Sfc. Chris Cleary, 37, of Calhoun, was giving a new soldier some advice this morning. Sitting next to Cleary in his Humvee was Spc. Jaime Lara, 20, of El Paso, Texas. Lara is a medic with the Fort Campbell, Ky.-based 101st Airborne Division. Soldiers from the 101st have been arriving here in large numbers to replace Cleary and fellow Georgia National Guardsmen with the 48th Brigade Combat Team.
After spending five months just south of Baghdad, the Georgians will be assuming new missions at other bases across Iraq. Many have already moved.
Meanwhile, Cleary and other soldiers in his unit are pumping vital information into their replacements. Soldiers from both units have been pairing up and patrolling through Lutayfiyah on foot at night and during the day.
As the two sat in their Humvee this morning, Cleary pulled a flat, silver-colored knife out of a strap on his body armor and held it up to Lara.
“You need a flat knife,” said Cleary, who leads his unit’s “Red Dog” platoon. “I have opened many a door with this. It does a pretty good job. Six dollars. You can’t beat it.”
As the two talked, a roadside bomb exploded outside their base. They could see a smoke cloud rising in the distance. Cleary told Lara that it won’t take him long to receive a combat metal in this town. Insurgents frequently attack U.S. soldiers here with roadside bombs and mortars.
“There is always something going on,” said Cleary, an engineer for the city of Calhoun.
Lara learned that the hard way on only his second day at Cleary’s base. On Thursday, insurgents hit the base and an adjoining Iraqi Army compound with eight mortar rounds, injuring two Iraqi soldiers. Lara helped treat the more seriously wounded of the two.
On that day, Lara survived his first mortar attack and treated his first trauma patient. Today was his first patrol outside the wire.
“We have a lot to learn from them,” Lara said of Cleary and the other battle-hardened Georgians. Many of Lara’s fellow paratroopers, however, have already served in Iraq. They took part in the 2003 invasion. Despite their extensive experience, the 101st veterans have been quietly observing the Georgians, listening intently to their advice about this new terrain.
With Cleary by his side, Lara and several other soldiers patrolled around Lutayfiyah today, searching suspicious cars and hunting roadside bombs. Cleary pointed out craters from roadside bombs and places where U.S. helicopters could land and pick up wounded soldiers.
As they entered downtown Lutayfiyah, the two spotted a spray of gray and white pigeons flying from a rooftop. The sight infuriated Cleary. He parked his Humvee and marched into the building with Lara guarding his back.
Cleary climbed a few flights of stairs and found a man on the roof with some pigeon cages. Through his Arabic interpreter, Cleary warned the man never to “slap” his pigeons again when his men roll into town.
“Why are you letting everyone know that I’m here?” Cleary asked the man.
The man smiled and pleaded ignorance, saying he wasn’t signaling anyone.
Cleary and Lara searched the man’s home and then proceeded through town. As they neared their base, Cleary warned Lara: “Don’t ever let your guard down. Always have that (medical) bag ready to rock.”
Their patrol was over. It was a successful day. No one got hurt. Cleary turned to Lara again: “Thanks for flying Red Dog Air. Hope you got something out of it.”
Lara: “Heck, yeah.”
