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Blackanthem Military News
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Last Updated:
Jan 5, 2009 - 8:24:33 PM |
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Blackanthem Military News
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| Staff Sgt. Nathan Camp, a squad leader with the 3rd Platoon, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, physically directs an Iraqi National Policeman's rifle to cover his sector of fire during room clearance training Aug. 14 in the Jaza'ir community of southern Baghdad. Camp, who hails from Paxton, Ill., is attached to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. David Hodge, 1st BCT PAO, 4th Inf. Div., MND-B) |
FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq - An average day for Staff Sgt. Nathan Camp's squad starts at 1 a.m. with physical training.
Technically, it is the end of the work day, which means that Camp's squad, which is part of 3rd Platoon, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, have finished patrolling the streets of the Jaza'ir community and have already prepared their combat vehicles for the next day's mission.
"Everything starts the night after the patrol," said Camp, a squad leader with 3rd Plt., Co. C, which is attached to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad. "It's important because we never know when we are going to roll out."
Camp, who hails from Paxton, Ill., and has more than five years of service in the U.S. Army, said he enjoys leading his squad "outside the wire" and into the handful of muhallas, or neighborhoods, in southern Baghdad's Rashid district.
"My role as a squad leader is to ensure all the preparations are accomplished so my guys can complete the mission," said Camp, who enjoys playing pick-up softball or basketball games with his comrades.
The squad maintains its level of mission readiness, whether training to achieve elite levels of fitness or preparing for a platoon weightlifting competition.
"It is easier to maneuver with all the protective gear on when Soldiers are physically fit," said Sgt. Michael Hardison, a team leader within the squad. "It's also a morale booster."
After their gym sessions, the infantrymen conduct personal hygiene and retire to their homemade wooden bunks that line their crowded rooms.
"The morning starts with mission preparation," Camp stated. "The team leaders conduct pre-combat checks and inspections on personnel and equipment."
After weapons are mounted and ready and the water coolers have been filled to the brim with ice and bottled water, the Soldiers watch a movie or television to relax before hitting the scorching pavement, said Hardison, a native of Battle Ground, Wash.
"We like to sit and laugh and joke to take our minds off of being away from home," explained Hardison. "It lightens the Soldiers' mood before they go on patrol."
After the Soldiers roll outside the boundaries of their combat outpost, they become mission-focused and ready to train the Iraqi Security Forces.
"Our main purpose is to make sure the ISF are ready for operations while we sit back in an over-watch role," Camp explained.
To accomplish this, the squad conducts many different missions, sometimes during the same patrol.
Generally, the Soldiers conduct at least one mission each day with the 2nd Battalion, 7th Brigade, 2nd National Police Division
"Our missions vary," said Pfc. Jason Wendel, an infantryman adept at many positions within the squad, such as a gunner, driver or dismounted infantryman. "We facilitate local businesses, pursue and detain high-value individuals and train NPs."
In a T-walled compound that houses an NP station, the Soldiers teach battle drills, such as react to contact techniques and the importance of wearing the proper personal protective equipment, to the ISF before conducting combined patrols throughout the muhallas with ISF by their side.
Hardison, a combat veteran with a prior deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, is impressed with the progress the NPs have made since arriving in Baghdad more than nine months ago.
"We show them how to conduct the training correctly the first time, and then their sergeant takes over teaching them," Hardison explained. "Until the handoff of operations, we are going to be working with the NPs every day."
"While we are out, we make sure they are doing things how we would do them," stated Wendel, a native of Clarksville, Tenn. "We are making sure that when we leave, they will have a set of standards to follow."
Besides securing the citizens of the Jaza'ir community, the 3rd Pltn. alternates with other platoons in the company to man security checkpoints around the COP and haul supplies back and forth to the forward operating base, said Wendel, who has been married for two years and is the father of two sons.
"When we come in from our daily patrol, we prepare the trucks for the next day's patrol," stated Wendel, whose father has served in the U.S. Army for 29 years. "The next morning, we wake up and check on the trucks again to make sure they are ready to roll."
The deployment provides the Soldiers of the squad the opportunity to gain knowledge that will benefit their Army careers, said Wendel.
"We cross-train all the Soldiers on the different weapons systems and communication equipment to give them the experience they need to become team and squad leaders," Wendel added. "That's a testament to our leaders."
The Soldiers of 2nd Squad, 3rd Pltn., are part of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, out of Fort Polk, La.
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:
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| Cpl. Frank Blackwell, an infantryman assigned to 3rd Platoon, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, trails two Iraqi National Policemen up a flight of stairs Aug. 14 during a clearance operation in the Jaza'ir community of southern Baghdad. Blackwell, a native of Lancaster, Calif., is currently serving a 15-month deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom attached to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. David Hodge, 1st BCT PAO, 4th Inf. Div., MND-B) |
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| Staff Sgt. Nathan Camp, a native of Paxton, Ill., and Cpl. Frank Blackwell(seated), from Lancaster, Calif., both infantrymen assigned to 3rd Platoon, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, attached to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad, wait for a Soldier to finish an exercise Aug 14 at a combat outpost in the Jaza'ir community of southern Baghdad. |
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| Staff Sgt. Nathan Camp, a squad leader with the 3rd Platoon, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, instructs a team of Iraqi National Policeman preparing to enter a room during house clearance training Aug. 14 in the Jaza'ir community of southern Baghdad. Camp, who hails from Paxton, Ill., is attached to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. David Hodge, 1st BCT PAO, 4th Inf. Div., MND-B) |
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| Iraqi National Policemen from the 4th Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Brigade, 2nd National Police Division, practice room clearing procedures Aug. 14 in the Jaza'ir community of southern Baghdad. Soldiers from Company C, 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, attached to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad, work with Iraqi Security Forces daily during mounted and dismounted combined patrols. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. David Hodge, 1st BCT PAO, 4th Inf. Div., MND-B) |
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| Sgt. Michael Hardison, an infantryman and team leader from Battle Ground, Wash., assigned to 3rd Platoon, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, attached to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad, and an Iraqi National Policeman from the 4th Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Brigade, 2nd National Police Division, exit an Iraqi citizens home Aug. 14 during clearance operations in the Jaza'ir community of southern Baghdad. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. David Hodge, 1st BCT PAO, 4th Inf. Div., MND-B) |
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| Iraqi National Policemen from the 4th Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Brigade, 2nd National Police Division, practice house clearing procedures Aug. 14 in the Jaza'ir community of southern Baghdad. Soldiers from Company C, 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, attached to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad, work daily with the NPs to provide a safe and secure environment for the citizens of the Rashid district. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. David Hodge, 1st BCT PAO, 4th Inf. Div., MND-B) |
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