Hitting the Streets with Arkansas Infantry
By Staff Sgt. Rebekah-mae Bruns
39th Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs
The Patrol – Friday, 8:00 p.m.
The evening Muslim call to prayer melodically echoed across the sky from a nearby mosque, while Soldiers hustled about their humvees making their last minute preparations for patrol.
They gathered for their mission brief, finished up their sodas and took the last drags off their cigarettes. The mission for the evening was simple enough. The platoon would patrol their zone, look for suspicious activity, and then drive over to another patrol base to pick up mail before heading back home for a few hours of sleep.Sgt. Christopher Grimm, of Cabot, Ark., puts on his body armor before heading out into the streets of Baghdad. Grimm is deployed with the 3rd Battalion, 153rd Infantry of the 39th Brigade Combat Team in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II.
The Soldier’s jumped in their vehicles, donned their gear, and took to the streets. As they drove through the neighborhood, the aroma of Iraqi food from outdoor restaurants and corner food stands filled the night air. “Everybody’s out tonight,” said platoon leader 1st Lt. Michael McCarty, of Bono, Ark. People bustled about weaving through the tiny streets full of vendors selling their wares mixed with brilliant displays of melons and colorful hanging fruit.
In the gun turret of the humvee, Sgt. Raif Rucker, 21, of Forrest City, Ark., scanned the rooftops, and alleys for lurking danger. “You can’t catch everything, but you try to see everything,” said Rucker. “With the people, I watch their habits and attitudes. I watch for who’s hostile and who isn’t.”
Rucker, a college student at the University of Arkansas, should have graduated this year with the rest of his friends but two deployments in three years with the Arkansas National Guard has left him behind at the sophomore level. Like other college students in his position, he’s anxious to get the deployment over so he can return to the states and finish what he started. “It’s okay as long as I graduate,” said Rucker cautiously. “I haven’t even started half my life yet.”Cracks spider their way across Sgt. Christopher Grimm's Humvee windshield. The cracks, damage from an IED and mortar attack, are a reminder to the Soldiers of 'near misses' they have experienced, as Grimm puts on his microphone headset in preparation for his next mission.
The patrol moved further down the street and turned a few corners leading into narrow alleyways barely wide enough to fit a humvee. After three months in country, the drivers have become masters at maneuvering vehicles between spaces that might otherwise seem impossible.
They approached a park with children playing on swing sets and other park toys. Their mothers, wrapped in traditional Muslim headscarves, sat nearby watching, as they casually talked among themselves. “They usually shoot mortars at us from here,” said McCarty referencing the park as they drove by. The park, despite its now seemingly normal activities, has on many occasions been used as a platform to lob mortars at the platoon’s base. Just two nights before they endured a mortar attack that sent 18 rounds into their compound. Surprisingly, no one was killed.
After patrolling their area, they moved to the battalion’s patrol base to pick up mail and fuel up before heading back for some sleep. Other than the normal activity of the city, their evening was quiet. “Just another night on the town,” sighed Spc. Jerome Coker, with a mix of disappointment and relief. “You want to do what you’re trained to do. When the enemy doesn’t show up to party, it’s not any fun.”
Observation Posts – Saturday, 1:30 a.m.
After a short nap, the Soldiers stepped out into the yard, and the dogs, who have made their home with them, began barking. The night cooled just enough to permit a small breeze, but the heat still lingered from the pavement. After loading into his vehicle, Sgt. Christopher Grimm, 35, of Cabot, Ark., pointed to different cracks in the windshield of his humvee. “This one is from a mortar attack and this one here is from and improvised explosive device (IED),” Grimm said, as he recounted the damage of near misses and ‘close calls.’ “Whoever invented bullet proof glass … it works.”
His gunner, Rucker, wasn’t as lucky. Sitting in the turret, he is often left exposed to blasts and other enemy elements. When they were hit by the IED, Rucker was struck with shrapnel in his right shoulder, but he knows it could have been worse. “Every time I leave this gate, I pray it’s not my day,” said Rucker. “But if it does go down, then I put my game face on.”
The platoon left the compound and began their drive. As they moved through the city in the late hour, the streets had the feel of a lazy dream. The shops were closed and all the hustle and bustle of earlier festivities had ceased.Sgt. Raif Rucker, of Forrest City, Ark., mans the M240B machine gun for his team. Manning his weapon in the turret of his vehicle is a dangerous job, which helps protect his fellow team members while out on missions.
After several minutes of winding through empty streets and darkened alleyways, the line of humvees came to a slow halt. Soldiers got out of their vehicles and milled about, while three others quietly disappeared into the shadows of a dilapidated building with a small supply of food and water.
The insertion is a bold move to locate insurgents who have been firing mortars on their compound. Hidden from sight, much like snipers, they wait. For up to three days, they stay hidden, patiently watching for possible enemy activity.
The remaining soldiers loaded back up into the vehicles, inserting several more teams throughout the area and then moved back to their compound. The platoon, a battle-tested bunch of southern boys from Arkansas, is known around the area for their tough stance. The patch they wear on their shoulder, depicting a knife and diamond has become folklore on the streets. It is said, by some Iraqi’s that in order to wear the patch, the Soldier had to kill someone with a knife. “The guys I’m with – there hasn’t been one of them that’s backed down yet,” said Grimm. “The first firefight we had we rolled into an ambush. None of them backed down then and none of them have backed down yet.”
Once in the compound, everyone remaining in the platoon took turns on radio watch. If there was enemy activity, the teams would radio in and the platoon would have to be ready to roll at a moments notice.
Enemy Contact – Monday, 2 a.m.
Screams of “Let’s go! Let’s go!” filled the building as Soldiers stumbled out of their cots grabbing their gear and weapons. The location of one of their teams had been compromised. The enemy knew where they were. They jumped in the humvees and fanatically drove through the streets of Baghdad at wild speeds, running lights and jumping curbs – Soldier’s lives were at stake.
Getting to the teams location is a race against time for the platoon. Between the moments the OP has been discovered and the time it takes for the arrival of help, it’s a gambler’s throw of the dice – a crapshoot of possible events. “You don’t want to leave your guys hanging if something happens,” said Coker. “If something happens, you want to be there within a few minutes.” The vehicles came to a screeching halt. Soldier’s jumped out - adrenaline pumping – and looked around for blood trails as they secured the area.
From darkened shadows three Soldiers calmly appeared on the street and threw their gear into a nearby humvee. “They were shooting wildly into my observation post,” said Staff Sgt. Ronald Woods, 35 of Little Rock, Ark. “I was in harm’s way, so I made a decision to fire.” Woods has spent time in several different OPs and they are never the same. He has laid in rotting trash next to dead animals and even spent two days lying in a stairwell. “When you go out there, you want to complete your mission,” said Woods. “The bad guys are out there and your job is to get the bad guys.”
In the last month alone they eliminated two rocket-propelled grenade teams, two to three mortar men, and a man trying to sneak up on an OP with a grenade. They lie in wait much like hunters, but instead of deer, the target is human. The platoon sergeant found a large pool of blood on the pavement and the Soldiers followed its trail into a darker, more populated neighborhood. But the trail came to an abrupt halt.
Next stop - the hospital.
The Iraqi police were already waiting at the hospital when the platoon arrived looking for the two men Woods shot. The insurgents had been there but were told by the doctor their wounds were too extensive for him to treat. They would have to go to another hospital that was better equipped. To the Soldiers’ dismay, the other hospital was out of the platoon’s jurisdiction. They loaded up once again and rolled back towards their compound. The Iraqi police would have to handle this one.
Everyone was safe, the team was picked up without injury, and Woods was able to give a sigh of relief. “It’s like parents coming to pick you up,” said Woods. “It’s like being rescued.”
Rucker sat in the gun turret with the night air hitting his skin as they moved down the road. He watched the rooftops and the alleyways – just in case. “With all the things that’s happened here, the fist thing I’m going to do when I get home – that first Sunday – I’m going to church,” Rucker said.
