Go Aweigh2452
12-03-2005, 11:18 PM
the following is from the Battalion Commander of one of my former cadets currently in Western Iraq. Thought you'd like to read the email he sent to the families...
To our great Blue Devil Family Readiness group-
I apologize for the long wait between letters.
I have nothing but good news to report. First the battalion is back together. After doing great work in western Iraq under the Marines, TF West is no longer and all are working under TF 3-504. Let me tell you how proud I am of Bco, Dco and HHC(-) for their great work in the Battles to retake Husayba and Ubaydi from the insurgents. This was all accomplished with three troopers injured, CPT Ollinger, SGT White, and SPC Gonzalez. All will be fine. CPT Ollinger is the most serious, I have spoken to him at Walter Reed and he is in high spirits, wishing he was back here with us. HHC(-), D co and Bco did a superb job out west, so much so that when the move came to move them back under the same headquarters the Marines pitched quite a fit at the General Officer level…and why wouldn’t they, they had the best infantry in Iraq under their control. While TF West worked for the Marines, the rest of us came under control of our new headquarters in Balad…Our mission was and is to enter areas where the Coalition has not had any presence and the insurgency has flourished and to disrupt and destroy the terrorist networks. To this point we have been maintaining a blistering operational tempo, but it has been rewarding. Aco, Cco, HHC and now Bco have done fantastic job where other units have refused to go because of the IED and ambush threat. And Dco will join the Task Force again in the next mission. We have found the people in these areas to be happy to see our troopers. The lack of support for the insurgency, even in the hard core Sunni areas, bodes well for our inevitable success here in Iraq.
I received an unclassified report card from our bosses and read it to our troops before we left on our last mission. I will share some of it with you:
“3-504 operations…are forcing AQIZ (Al Qaeda Terrorists in Iraq) to do exactly what we want them to do”
“3-504 activity is reducing the size of the enemy safe haven and reducing their security posture”
“we should also point out the example the 504th has set. By demonstrating that a light infantry unit can operate at will throughout what was previously considered enemy controlled territory, the unit has set an example for others to follow.
“The enemy has taken note of 3-504 operations …detainee comments include statements on enemy fleeing, low morale and fear…”
“3-504 is doing an excellent job, and shaping the battlefield for success”
These latest missions have not been without cost. SSG Ramos, SPC Sparling and SPC Nedlchev from Cco were all injured when they were investigating and in the process of marking an IED. It was an ambush, the IED was command detonated by a terrorist triggerman. But by decisive action by 2nd platoon, C co not only got our casualties out quickly but also captured those responsible for the attack. One of the injured was PFC Nedlchev. A Bulgarian by citizenship, Nedlchev was injured in the 15 October firefight in Haqlaniya. This was his first mission back with Cco when he was hit again in the shoulder by IED shrapnel. While being evacuated, Ned was in tears, not because of the pain, but because he felt he was letting his platoon down by getting injured again. When I called Ned at Walter Reed he was in considerable pain and heavily medicated. Before I could get my greeting out of my mouth he was asking if all in his platoon were OK. I reassured him they were. This trooper and the hundreds of Blue Devils like him are what make Paratroopers so special to me and, of course, to loved ones like you as well.
This brings me to my next topic—when you will be reunited. Again, nothing but good news to report. It appears that all the original redeployment timelines are on track or running slightly ahead. Still much work to be done, but I project that, worst case, all troopers will be home by mid January, with the first flights arriving in the first days of the New Year.
I want to thank you again for your great support of the troopers forward here. I promise to write again soon, especially when the redeployment dates firm up.
Larry Swift
BD6
To our great Blue Devil Family Readiness group-
I apologize for the long wait between letters.
I have nothing but good news to report. First the battalion is back together. After doing great work in western Iraq under the Marines, TF West is no longer and all are working under TF 3-504. Let me tell you how proud I am of Bco, Dco and HHC(-) for their great work in the Battles to retake Husayba and Ubaydi from the insurgents. This was all accomplished with three troopers injured, CPT Ollinger, SGT White, and SPC Gonzalez. All will be fine. CPT Ollinger is the most serious, I have spoken to him at Walter Reed and he is in high spirits, wishing he was back here with us. HHC(-), D co and Bco did a superb job out west, so much so that when the move came to move them back under the same headquarters the Marines pitched quite a fit at the General Officer level…and why wouldn’t they, they had the best infantry in Iraq under their control. While TF West worked for the Marines, the rest of us came under control of our new headquarters in Balad…Our mission was and is to enter areas where the Coalition has not had any presence and the insurgency has flourished and to disrupt and destroy the terrorist networks. To this point we have been maintaining a blistering operational tempo, but it has been rewarding. Aco, Cco, HHC and now Bco have done fantastic job where other units have refused to go because of the IED and ambush threat. And Dco will join the Task Force again in the next mission. We have found the people in these areas to be happy to see our troopers. The lack of support for the insurgency, even in the hard core Sunni areas, bodes well for our inevitable success here in Iraq.
I received an unclassified report card from our bosses and read it to our troops before we left on our last mission. I will share some of it with you:
“3-504 operations…are forcing AQIZ (Al Qaeda Terrorists in Iraq) to do exactly what we want them to do”
“3-504 activity is reducing the size of the enemy safe haven and reducing their security posture”
“we should also point out the example the 504th has set. By demonstrating that a light infantry unit can operate at will throughout what was previously considered enemy controlled territory, the unit has set an example for others to follow.
“The enemy has taken note of 3-504 operations …detainee comments include statements on enemy fleeing, low morale and fear…”
“3-504 is doing an excellent job, and shaping the battlefield for success”
These latest missions have not been without cost. SSG Ramos, SPC Sparling and SPC Nedlchev from Cco were all injured when they were investigating and in the process of marking an IED. It was an ambush, the IED was command detonated by a terrorist triggerman. But by decisive action by 2nd platoon, C co not only got our casualties out quickly but also captured those responsible for the attack. One of the injured was PFC Nedlchev. A Bulgarian by citizenship, Nedlchev was injured in the 15 October firefight in Haqlaniya. This was his first mission back with Cco when he was hit again in the shoulder by IED shrapnel. While being evacuated, Ned was in tears, not because of the pain, but because he felt he was letting his platoon down by getting injured again. When I called Ned at Walter Reed he was in considerable pain and heavily medicated. Before I could get my greeting out of my mouth he was asking if all in his platoon were OK. I reassured him they were. This trooper and the hundreds of Blue Devils like him are what make Paratroopers so special to me and, of course, to loved ones like you as well.
This brings me to my next topic—when you will be reunited. Again, nothing but good news to report. It appears that all the original redeployment timelines are on track or running slightly ahead. Still much work to be done, but I project that, worst case, all troopers will be home by mid January, with the first flights arriving in the first days of the New Year.
I want to thank you again for your great support of the troopers forward here. I promise to write again soon, especially when the redeployment dates firm up.
Larry Swift
BD6