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Engineer crews eliminate possible spots to stash IEDs
EFL:While most soldiers in Iraq cringe at the thought of encountering an IED, Army engineers are making it easier for them to do just that. As part of Task Force Right of Way, Company C, 489th Engineer Battalion is clearing vegetation and debris from Iraqi Highway 1, known to troops as Main Supply Route Tampa. Enemy insurgents have attacked troops along the route with the improvised explosive devices, crude bombs detonated on command. The engineers want to give passing troops a fighting chance to spot IEDs by flattening medians and shoulders along the thoroughfare. âIt makes it harder for Haji, the enemy, to come out and hide an IED because thereâs nothing for him to hide it behind or under,â said Sgt. 1st Class Ed Fletcher said. Haji, huh? I knew it would only be a matter of time before we had a nickname. So, goodbye Charlie, hello Haji! The Arkansas-based Reserve unit began work several months ago near Bayji, north of Tikrit. Its goal is to clear the highway south to Taji, outside Baghdad. Similar teams are beginning work in other parts of Iraq. The unit falls under the 130th Engineer Brigade based in Hanau, Germany. âThis war is different,â said Capt. Kirk Claunch, Company C commander, as his troops set out. âItâs being fought by terrorists. And this is the best way theyâve found to fight us.â Claunch, 37, who in civilian life practices personal injury law in Fort Worth, Texas, often is out in front of his team, peering into bushes and ditches. While the crew uses blast-resistant vehicles in their search, and bulldozers to plow the ground, someone has to look in the hard-to-get places. Most often, the bombs are found that way, Claunch said. The crew has received occasional rifle fire, but it is mostly inaccurate shots that donât justify a response. The more immediate dangers are Iraqi drivers zooming their cars through the work areas, says Sgt. Joshua Smith, 24, a police officer from Joplin, Mo. âThereâs no traffic laws over here at all,â he says. âThey do what they want.â Up ahead, troops in the Meerkat minesweeper search for anything metal buried in the ground, followed by a Buffalo that digs up any suspicious objects. So far, enemy forces have not attacked the small engineer force, which obviously is hindering the insurgentsâ plans to attack troops. Just in case, heavily armed squads of troops stand guard. Which is why they havenât attacked. âIf he tries to take us on while weâre here working, heâs going to die,â Claunch says of the enemy. âHe can attack us, but he can never stop the mission overall. As long as the Army is committed, weâll continue to make it hard for them.â Posted by: Steve 2004-01-05 |
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