HHC/1-506 IN Mission Summary

Korea

It was mid-May 2005 when CNN began reporting that the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 2nd Infantry Division, of which we were a part, was given deployment orders to go to Iraq to participate in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Rumors were flying and commanders were insisting that we had not yet received any orders. "We take our orders from the National Command Authority, not CNN!" was the cry of the day. A day later we heard, "We're going to Iraq!"

It became abundantly clear that a unit that was prepared to fight on the ground it occupied was not prepared to move at a moment's notice. We needed shipping materials and containers that would take a week or more to arrive. The first two weeks in June became block leave for soldiers, many of whom had not seen their families in months while pulling hardship duty without them in Korea. Upon completion of block leave, the shipping containers arrived and we began packing all of our equipment, much of which was still arriving, having been ordered just before block leave. After we finished packing the containers and staging the vehicles we were released for a day on the 4th of July. It would be our last day off in more than a year.

After our day off, Hellcat Company and the rest of the battalion moved out to R228, an old abandoned airfield. There we trained on FOB security, Logistical Convoy Operations, and Marksmanship. The weather was hot and humid; the mosquitoes created clouds in the air and the ground that the tents were on became soggy with the rain that seemed to never cease falling. During this time we were also shuttling back to Camp Greaves to pack and ship our household goods and complete anything else that was necessary to close the camp.

Finally the day arrived for our farewell ceremony. On 2 August 2004, the 2nd Brigade Combat Team conducted a pass and review at Camp Casey that was as impressive as it was hot. Hellcat Company was picture-perfect as it passed the grandstands where MG Woods, the 2ID Commander, and COL Patton, the 2BCT Commander, presided over the ceremony. After the ceremony, there was a farewell party, but as usual the Currahees had to catch the early bus home. We were deploying in the morning.

Kuwait

On 3 August, Hellcat Company began the process of busing to Camp Casey for out-processing and then down to Osan Airbase where we boarded planes for our flight to Kuwait. We arrived at Ali Al Saleem Air Base in Kuwait on 4 August after a refueling stop in Thailand. Many of us arrived at night. Kuwait has little vegetation, seeing the lights of Kuwait City below you as you fly in at night gives a very sterile and industrial impression of the country. When we stepped outside it felt like we stepped into an oven. It was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the middle of the night! We boarded buses and rode from Ali Al Saleem to Camp Buehring near the border with Iraq. Upon arrival we conducted more in-processing and were put into tents to shelter us from the blazing Kuwaiti Sun and the fierce midday winds that pelted us with sand. At Camp Buehring we received our first M1114 factory up-armored vehicles and placed add on armor on select vehicles in Hellcat Company. All unarmored vehicles were programmed for shipment on tractor trailers for movement into Iraq. Training began with a sense of purpose in Kuwait. Marksmanship and Close Quarter Battle Drills were the primary emphasis. We knew that the next time we would need these skills it would be for real.

Movement into Iraq

Approximately half of Hellcat Company flew into Al Taqqadum (TQ) Air Base between 24 and 27 August. We arrived to sights similar to what we had seen in Kuwait. Little spots of civilization carved out of a harsh desert. But as we drove out of the front gate of TQ and across the 500 meters of no man's land between TQ and Habbaniyah, we saw in front of us the lush, vegetated camp surrounded on three sides by large spans of water. It is where we would spend our next 11 months. The other half of Hellcat Company ground convoyed to Camp Habbaniyah, transporting and securing the battalion's necessary vehicles and equipment. The ground convoy finished their grueling task on 28 August after vehicle trouble and mishaps across Iraq extended their trip to 4 days. While they saw evidence of violence throughout their trip, thankfully there was none directed at the convoy and with a little rest they were ready to begin the tasks at hand. Upon arrival at Camp Habbaniyah, the sections immediately went to work supporting the battalion by doing what they do best.

S-1 (Personnel)

The S-1 Section did a remarkable job accounting for personnel, issuing awards, processing evaluation reports and requesting replacements for a Task Force of over 1,200 Soldiers, Marines, and Airmen. Task Force morale was kept high as the thousands of letters and packages that arrived in the mail were brought over from TQ.

Unit Ministry Team

The deployment brought some high ‘highs' and some low ‘lows' for the UMT section. CH Robison and SGT Distefano made it a goal to provide a unified team effort to meet the religious needs of all soldiers in our task force at Habbaniyah. The most difficult times of ministry were the 12 Memorial Ceremonies conducted honoring our 16 fallen heroes. The men were our teammates who we all knew well while in Korea and in Iraq. We will always remember them and will never forget their sacrifices. The high times we experienced were seeing people respond to new life changes and following through with baptism and observing communion in our services. We saw our faith community grow in all our Worship Services, Bible Studies and Fellowships. Our goal was to meet the deep soulful need to know God's presence was near even in a combat zone. He was! As a community of faith, we all had a part in sharing His reality to others.

S-2 (Intelligence), S-3 (Operations) & S-5 (Effects) AKA "The TOC"

The TOC while in Iraq has planned & battle-tracked over 250 combat missions and participated in over 75 missions. They cleared and conducted over 175 Counter-fire, Call for Fire, and Illumination Missions. They briefed and coordinated air travel & ground transportation for 95% of the Task Force participating in the R&R leave and pass program. They also tracked and coordinated several daily enduring tasks and missions, while sustaining a 60% turnover rate in personnel since arrival in country. All this was done while maintaining the thick skin required to professionally and efficiently operate in a highly criticized and stressful capacity.

S-4 (Logistics)

When you say "We need it and we need it now!" you are answered by "if you ask for it, we will find it". This is the best sentence to sum up the S-4 section. This adaptive section has been able to sustain us even when life support was not there. Theses guys are masters at the hand-shake deal in order to make something happen for you. It is a tough job that goes mostly unnoticed. If you knew half of what they do, it would blow your mind. The other half you just didn't need to know.

Communications Section

This deployment saw a decentralization of communications support in the battalion. Company communications representatives were permanently assigned to individual companies to allow more flexibly and speed in providing communication support and assets. Upon arrival in theater, the Commo Shop implemented the communications transformation of three light line companies to motorized companies, and spearheaded integration of new force multiplying technologies into the Task Force including Multi-Band Individual Tactical Radio (MBITR), Personal Role Radio (PRR), Blue Force Tracker (BFT), and Improvised Explosive Device Countermeasure Equipment (ICE). To provide expedient point-to-point mission and administrative communications for the entire FOB, the shop ran over 15 miles of phone wire and supported a Mobile Subscriber Equipment (MSE) telephone network with over 40 subscribers (more than 10 times the size expected for a deployed light Infantry battalion). In addition to a mobile retransmission team constantly at the ready, the Commo Shop established a permanent retrans site to constantly support battalion missions as well as Mad Max operations. Additionally, through their own initiative, they spent weeks of personal time to install a satellite-based Internet-access system covering a geographical region of over 2 square miles and supporting several hundred computers, greatly improving morale among soldiers in the battalion.

Mess Section

The Battalion Mess Section has spent countless hours of time setting the standard for the daily operation of two dining facilities. After arrival of the task force to Camp Habbaniyah, the section focused on the morale of the task force by implementing different cold and hot bars, specialty meals, cold beverages, and a variety of pastries which were missing from the daily operations of the dining facilities. The section also conducted over 1,000 combat logistical patrols to TQ in support of Class I resupply operations during the OIF rotation without any loss or injury to personnel or equipment.

Maintenance Platoon

The Currahee Maintenance Platoon maintained over 200 wheeled vehicles including our supporting detachments from the USMC and the USAF. Throughout the deployment, the maintenance platoon maintained an Operational Readiness Rate above 94%. We outfitted every gun truck with a turret protective shield, up-armored six M1025's and two M1078's, and outfitted the M1 fleet with ballistic windows to protect the loaders from sniper fire. We also recovered over 80 vehicles that were damaged by IEDs without any damage to personnel or property. Our PLL section ordered over $3 million worth of Class IX parts in order to keep the battalion's fleet on the road. The PLL section also turned in over $2 million of recoverable items back into the supply system.

Medical Platoon

The Medics, life savers of the battalion, are the guys that fixed us when we are broken, dressed our wounds, and provided a shoulder to cry on when we had those little aches and pains. Whether it has been treating our own wounded, enemy or civilian casualties, the men of the Medical Platoon have done it well and with compassion. This dynamic team of providers has risked all so others may live, and they continue to do that on a daily basis.

Mortar Platoon

The Mortar Platoon conducted many operations in support of the battalion. The most diverse platoon in the battalion, Mortars have not only provided responsive fires against the enemy but have also conducted raids, cordon and searches, QRF, and Mad Max operations, not to mention ECP operations on East Camp. The Mortar Platoon stood ready for any mission that came their way and executed with the professionalism of a seasoned combat platoon.

Scout Platoon

The Scout Platoon conducted a wide variety of missions to include sniper operations, reconnaissance and surveillance, ambushes, raids, and security operations in support of battalion objectives. During the first 10 months in combat, the Scout Platoon completed 187 missions encompassing over 2,700 hours of mission time; always operating in small and isolated teams of 5 men or less. With missions lasting up to 72 hours in duration, the Scout Platoon became very adept at taking the fight to the enemy by utilizing stealth, surprise, high levels of endurance and tactical patience in order to catch the enemy off guard. The grueling operational tempo that was required of the platoon afforded its soldiers the maximum opportunity to take the fight to the enemy, allowing the platoon to successfully kill the enemy and deter hostile acts during numerous engagements. The physical and psychological impact of this small platoon, consisting of only 12 soldiers by tour's end, undoubtedly contributed to the overall success of the battalion during this deployment in support of OIF.

Support Platoon

The Support Platoon has done it all. It has driven nearly 300,000 miles in Iraq supporting the fight by scouring the country and bringing the necessary logistics and a few morale boosting items back to our camp. Ramadi, Victory, Anaconda, Taji -- these places and the roads in between were the Support Platoon's battleground. No matter where, no matter what, the members of the platoon put their pedal to the metal to find it and bring it home. On top of supporting with ammo, fuel and transportation, the Support Platoon has provided vital route security, enabling the battalion to focus combat power at the decisive point.

Detainee Operations

HHC had a vital hand in detainee operations throughout our time at Camp Habbaniyah. The men from HHC conducted medical evaluations, screened and processed over 1,500 detainees, and quickly transported them to the detention facility in Ramadi. On more than one occasion, some of our Iraqi friends have been so impressed with the hospitality at the NOTRI (named after our humble but dear club at Camp Greaves, Korea) that they have returned for another visit. The men of HHC were always happy to oblige.

A/2-72 AR Replacements

As our armor company took casualties and a leave program was established, A/2-72 AR was having difficulty fully manning their tanks. Hellcat Company rose to the challenge and sent a handful of volunteers to operate as loaders on the tanks of Apache Company. These men quickly learned their new job and became veterans of our Mad Max operation. They daily traversed and overwatched the deadliest stretch of ground in our area of operations, MSR Michigan.