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Blackanthem Military News
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Last Updated:
Mar 10, 2010 - 7:17:19 PM |
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Blackanthem Military News
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| Two Armored Combat Excavators clear debris and obstacles from a four-lane highway while an M1 Abrams tank provides security in Mosul, Iraq, Dec. 13. Soldiers from the 43rd Combat Engineer Company, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment worked for more than 17 hours to clear more than a kilometer of the route, which had been closed to civilian traffic. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Eric A. Rutherford) |
MOSUL, Iraq - Soldiers of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment's 43rd Combat Engineer Company worked to clear one of the many impassible roads in Mosul as part of Operation Thunder Reaper IV Dec. 13.
The 17-hour mission incorporated construction assets from the 43rd CEC, as well as several other elements from regiment's Thunder Squadron.
Soldiers set out to open a section of Route Tampa, one of the city's main roads that had been closed to traffic.
"When we got here, a lot of these routes were blocked," said Sgt. 1st Class Rodney Larue, the Assault and Obstacle platoon sergeant with the 43rd. "Now our mission is to go in and reopen them for regular traffic."
Larue, of Copperas Cove, Texas, said route clearance will be a major role for the 43rd, which recently arrived in the battle space. The mission, which started at sunrise and ran well into the night, opened more of the route than was expected, Larue said.
The operation consisted of several phases. The first was route reconnaissance searching for roadside bombs and other hazards. After the route clearance phase, Bradley Fighting Vehicles and M1A2 Abrams tanks provided overwatch and security in the area so the engineers could work with relative safety to clear the roads. During the operation, there were no casualties and no notable enemy contact.
"We expected it to be quiet because there were so many moving pieces," said Larue. "We had units to the north, south, west and east. We had units patrolling and we knew it was going to be quiet today. It is normally a really busy area."
The next phase of the operation was to use Armored Combat Excavators to clear trash and other debris and obstacles from the road. The engineers then placed concrete barriers to better control traffic on the four-lane highway.
"Today we set out to do a large-scale route improvement in our sector," said Sgt. Daniel Preston, a gun system operator with the A&O platoon, 43rd CEC. "We used our dig assets to improve what was a trash-filled, dirt-filled, improvised explosive device magnet into a four-lane highway with serpentines."
Larue and Preston provided command and control of the operation from their Buffalo mine resistant ambush protected vehicle, using video cameras and a hydraulic arm to search areas for potential explosive threats. The buffalo crew exposed an IED in a crowded intersection, which an explosive ordnance disposal team later destroyed.
After the road was cleared of obstacles, the ACE vehicles moved into the route sanitation phase. The ACE vehicles cleared rubble from buildings and large piles of dirt on the roadsides that were used to hide bombs. They also cleared large areas of trash to be burned later to improve sanitation.
"My guys did a kick-butt job today," said Larue. "Morale was good and high. Even though we are putting in these 18-hour-plus days, I just can't ask any more of my guys."
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:
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| Two Iraqis relax while they watch Soldiers form the 43rd Combat Engineer Company, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment work to clear the highway in front of their house Dec. 13 in Mosul, Iraq. In an area plagued with attacks, civilians came out to watch the operation which reopened a four-lane highway to traffic. ((U.S. Army photo by Spc. Eric A. Rutherford) |
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| Three Armored Combat Excavators clear debris and obstacles from a four-lane highway while a Bradley Fighting Vehicle provides security in Mosul, Iraq, Dec. 13. Soldiers from the 43rd Combat Engineer Company, 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment worked for more than 17 hours to clear more than a kilometer of the route which had been closed to civilian traffic. ((U.S. Army photo by Spc. Eric A. Rutherford) |
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Mark Young
04 Jun 2008, 18:23
So whats new with the Brave Rifes?
173rd Airborne have been putting Hoorah videos on YouTube each month. Any
plans for 3rd ACR or the 43rd CE doing that?
My son is with the 43rd.
Cheers!
Mark
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