FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHARANA, Afghanistan, - The active-duty
Army and National Guard members of a new route-clearance patrol formed here
last month would experience many "firsts" in their maiden voyage.
For many members of the 17th Fires Brigade's 5th Battalion, 3rd Field
Artillery, based at Joint Base McChord-Lewis, Wash., last week's opening
mission marked the first time they'd served as part of a route-clearance
unit - a job typically left to combat engineers.
The soldiers are taking on a substantially different role from their normal
mission of manning multiple-launch rocket system batteries.
For the members of the Missouri Army National Guard's 203rd Engineer
Battalion, it was their first time serving in a route-clearance capacity in
Afghanistan with an active Army element. When the 203rd was ordered to
mobilize in August, these citizen-soldiers initially were slated to perform
a personnel security role, but that changed once they arrived here and the
need for more route-clearance patrols became evident.
For all of them - who are collectively nicknamed the "Black Jacks" - the
mission marked the first time they worked together "outside the wire" as a
team.
The first time they went out they had their hands full.
While these route-clearance soldiers already were prepared to expect the
unexpected, no one could have predicted they would engage in a three-hour
vehicle recovery operation caused not by a roadside-bomb detonation, but by
bad luck. But the experience proved to be extremely valuable and helped the
unit come together as a team, the soldiers said later.
A few hours into the mission, the "Black Jacks" were preparing to turn
around and begin the second phase of their operation when the lead
mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle, an RG-31, suddenly sank three feet
into a ditch that had been hidden by road work and softened by two days of
rain and snow.
"Leader, this is Two," said the convoy's second vehicle, which had watched
the incident unfold just ahead. "One is stuck. They're buried on their right
side in mud up to their axle."
"Can we pull them out?" Leader responded.
"I don't know," said Two.
Unbeknownst to the convoy prior to the start of the mission, the local
villagers had begun a project to lay new pipe across the roadway, which
forced local traffic onto a much softer bypass. The smaller cars and trucks
driven by Afghans had little problem negotiating the obstacle, but for the
much-heavier MRAPs, the soggy, muddy bypass became a vehicle trap.
"We didn't have any intelligence that the roadway was out," said Army 1st
Lt. Phil Kirk, originally from Waterloo, Ill., the route-clearance patrol
platoon leader whose unit is attached to the 203rd Engineer Battalion. "When
we got up there, we discovered the route was completely torn out.
"I thought our people on the ground definitely took charge and developed
plans and made it happen," Kirk continued, noting that a few of his soldiers
who had route-clearance experience from Iraq took control of the situation
right away and began implementing possible solutions.
Local Afghans also took an immediate role in helping the Americans - much to
the surprise of a number of convoy team members. One man offered the use of
his road grader, which was parked nearby. And several Afghan National Police
officers also arrived to help the Americans keep crowds away and locate more
heavy equipment to pull their vehicle out.
"It was great how the [Afghan police] were able to go into the village and
get the construction operators to bring their equipment, rollers and
graders, out to assist in helping us get our vehicle out," Kirk said.
Initial attempts to dislodge the heavily armored vehicle using only the road
grader proved unsuccessful, as the mud gripped the right side of the MRAP
like a vise. But the Americans and Afghans soon realized they would need
more than one vehicle - and other road-building support - to free it.
the time the vehicle was freed, more than three hours had passed. It was
well after dark, and the temperature had fallen well below freezing. But
Kirk's patrol and their Afghan supporters never gave up. When one idea
failed, another was tried. When the situation seemed hopeless, the soldiers
were at their most professional.
"It could've gone better, maybe, but it was our first time out as our own
element. It wasn't that bad," said Army Staff Sgt. Nathanial Muller, an MRAP
vehicle commander and member of the 5-3rd Field Artillery Company,
originally from Vancouver, Wash.
Indeed.
In a combat zone, no plan is ever perfect and few conditions are ever ideal.
What's more, every soldier will tell you there is always a first time for
everything, and how a unit collectively handles those unforeseen problems
can indicate the way they will deal with future mission-related issues, both
big and small.
If their first-time performance is any indication of future success, perhaps
"Black Jack" is a new synonym for accomplishment.