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A Soldier’s Story First Sgt. Robert Jennings |
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PHOTO COURTESY OF 1ST SGT. ROBERT JENNINGS
Soldiers from Alpha Company move in a 5-ton truck in support of Bravo Company during daylight combat operations.
Company hunts for
source of rocket firePlatoon sergeants are foundation The week has come to a close as we finally finish our political party compliance checks. I think it was a successful few weeks because all parties understand what is expected of them as far as security goes. We will continue to do spot checks so everyone stays in compliance with the regulations that were set by the coalition provisional authority.
March 15 >> Following up on intelligence from an informant, the company gets a mission to try and catch the "rocket man." Capt. Todd Moe, company commander, gathers the company leadership to form a plan.
"Rocket man" is the nickname for an individual or individuals who have continuously fired rockets blindly at coalition forces on the air base. Sometimes they fly into the sheep fields; sometimes they fall short in a neighborhood. No major injuries have resulted from these cowardly blind attacks, but we don't want to take any chances. Anyway you look at it, this could be a big catch.
March 16 >> Alpha Company rolls out the gate to the suspected residence. After reaching the general area, 2nd Platoon offloads the Humvees. Moving down the side of the street, they look like a snake about to devour its prey. In a flash, the first squad enters the house and clears the first room. Two men are immediately searched. The squad continues through the house, sometimes entering before the occupants are able to get out of bed. Our interpreter begins directing questions toward all the occupants. The first two men say they have no ID. After a thorough search of the house and surrounding area, we find pieces of a rocket in an old septic tank. After one of the unidentified men tells the interpreter his name, the interpreter says, "That's funny, you're the guy we're looking for."
We finish this week conducting traffic control points and observation posts throughout the city. Even though we got one guy, there are probably more. We are also preparing for this weekend's Kurdish New Year. With the recent ethnic violence against the Shias in Baghdad, coalition forces want to keep clashes to a minimum. Our job is not only keeping the celebrations safe and celebratory AK-47 fire to a minimum, but also safeguarding the Kurdish. They may become a target for us to protect while they gather to observe their holiday. All of the platoons understand the difficulty of this weekend's mission, and are ready for the challenge.
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Platoon sergeants
are foundationThe four platoon sergeants from Alpha Company are the true backbone of the company. Their daily duties include: chief adviser to the platoon leader; health and welfare of 30-35 soldiers each; training soldiers; and mentoring three squad leaders each, not to mention all the daily little things they accomplish to ensure the company's success.
Without them it would be impossible for me to accomplish anything. Alpha Company has assembled some of the finest trainers the Army has to offer. Talking to all four, they agree that the measure of success for them is to return to Hawaii with every soldier they brought. They also agree that establishing and upholding democracy in Kirkuk will be the key in accomplishing that task.
Let me introduce them:
>> Staff Sgt. Robert Ryder from Portland, Ore., has been in the Army for eight years. He has been assigned to Alpha for the last year as a platoon sergeant.
He said the most difficult part of the deployment is "dealing with different ethnicities and trying to get them to learn to live with each other.
"We are here to protect all the ethnicities from each other. It's tough when something goes wrong and you can't tell the difference between the different sides."
Message home: To his wife, Natalie, good luck in Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Ga. "I miss and love you lots."
>> Sgt. 1st Class Austin Brown from Irvington, Ky., has been in the Army for 13 years. He has been in Alpha Company for 15 months.
"The aftermath of the car bomb at the police station is by far the worst I've seen over here," he said.
And the weirdest sight so far: "Kids jumping on the donkeys. They walk right up to one, jump on his back and try to ride them down the street. It's like watching a rodeo."
Message home: Brown sends his love to his wife, Staff Sgt. Lizadell Langford, recently reassigned from Hawaii to Fort Stewart, Ga.
>> Sgt. 1st Class Richard Woodruff from Pompano Beach, Fla., has been in the Army for 15 years. He has been in Alpha Company for six months.
"Satisfaction is seeing all the soldiers in the platoon successfully complete the missions given to them," he said.
The craziest thing sighted: "We were conducting a traffic control point, and this little spider monkey was jumping from car to car across the roofs. I wish I had my camera ready for that one."
Message home: "Hi" to Kelly: "Love ya, miss ya, and see you soon."
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>> Staff Sgt. Gregory Dzingle is from Sterling, Colo., and has been in the Army for eight years. He has been assigned to Alpha Company for 20 months.
Most satisfying achievement during the deployment: "Building all the different beds and shelves for the soldiers' quality of life. When we got here we were sleeping almost on top of each other, eight guys to a room. We've built bunk beds to allow more room and lessen the chance of passing sickness."
Message home: To Bonnie and the kids, "New Zealand is closer than ever." They are scheduled to wed when he returns.
1st Sgt. Robert Jennings is deployed in Iraq with 4,000 25 Infantry Division (Light) soldiers from Schofield Barracks. He writes a Sunday column for the Star-Bulletin that began Feb. 1. Jennings, a 20-year Army veteran, has been assigned to Fort Riley, Kan., Fort Campbell, Ky., Fort Lewis, Wash., and Camp Casey in South Korea. He is now on his second tour at Schofield Barracks. He has been deployed to Panama, Japan, Germany, Egypt and Thailand. As the first sergeant of Alpha Company, Jennings is in charge of 135 soldiers.
See the Columnists section for Jennings' earlier dispatches.
