Publication:Chattanooga Times Free Press
Date:Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Section:Front Page; Page:1

By Edward Lee Pitts Military Affairs

EDITOR’S NOTE: Military Affairs reporter Edward Lee Pitts, who is embedded with the 278th Regimental Combat Team, did not interview any soldiers for this story. U.S. military officials mandated that journalists could not talk to U.S. Coalition Forces on Jan. 30 and Jan. 31. The story is based solely on his observations and comments he heard on Sunday and Monday.

FORWARD OPERATING BASE, COBRA, Iraq — A 278th Regimental Combat Team soldier said that Monday morning, the day after Iraq’s first free elections in a half century, felt like the day after Christmas.

Initial reports from an Iraqi official here placed the final turnout at about 80 percent of eligible voters in the four major cities in the sector of northeastern Iraq patrolled by the 278th’s 3rd Squadron — As Sa’diyah, Jalula, Khanaqin and Qara Tapa.

Soldiers with the 278th spent Monday morning telling each other about election day.

"We threw an election party yesterday, and a lot of people came," one soldier said. "That’s pretty cool."

One soldier recalled how he knew the elections had succeeded when he watched the Al-Jazeera television network at the mayor of Jalula’s office. The popular Arabic station, sometimes accused of being anti-American, was broadcasting positive accounts of the voting, the soldier said.

ELECTION DAY QUIET

After patrolling late into Saturday night on election eve, 278th soldiers had to hand over election-day security to Iraqi security forces.

"We won’t rush in," said one 278th officer after the soldiers’ Sunday shift began at 4 a.m. "If we hear firing going on, we will let them handle it. It is their country and their people."

The bleary-eyed soldiers each got one or two hours of sleep in their uniforms before rising in the dark to play their part in Iraq’s election day.

At the tactical command center here at 4:30 a.m., officers cradled cups of coffee and talked about how quiet Saturday night had been in the four cities.

The 3rd Squadron’s L Troop suffered its second roadside bomb attack of the deployment Saturday night when a homemade device exploded beside a Humvee north of Jalula. It caused no injuries.

During the Sunday morning briefing, soldiers warned one another to keep an extra eye out for vehicles packed with explosives. To reduce the risk of car bombs, most private automobiles were banned from city roads all day Sunday.

"If they get too close, you know what you have to do," a sergeant said, referring to any cars the 278th convoy might encounter on the highways. A 278th major warned his men to make sure they had their gas masks with them because, while the chances of a chemical attack were slim, this would be the most likely day for one.

"Let’s go be a part of history," an officer said, adjourning the meeting as his men headed outside to their Humvees.

REMEMBERING BOMBING

The convoy pulled outside Cobra’s gate just as the sun rose about 6:30 a.m., 30 minutes before the polls opened. The convoy’s first stop was Khanaqin, where a suicide bombing on Saturday killed eight Iraqis.

As the 278th convoy headed down the nearly deserted highway, Iraqi guards, armed with AK-47 rifles, used metal poles and barbed wire across the roads to stop traffic.

Inside Khanaqin, the convoy passed three such checkpoints just on the road to get to the Joint Command Center, the emergency response building operated by Iraqi and 278th soldiers. At the center, soldiers visited the exact spot of the blast beside the compound’s gate and marveled at the number of shrapnel holes in the surrounding trees and 7-foot sand barriers, which absorbed the brunt of the bomb.

A 278th soldier there when the blast occurred told the visiting soldiers the suicide bomber packed his explosive with dozens of marble-sized metal pellets that acted like lethal bullets at denotation.

"That was the first suicide bomber we’ve had since we’ve been here, and I hope it will be the last," he said.

The 278th soldiers shook their heads when told a preliminary investigation suggested the suicide bomber held a child by the hand as he approached the gate to reduce any suspicions regarding his deadly intentions.

Witnesses told the 278th soldiers the death toll could have been worse. A 278th convoy arrived just before the explosion but parked down the street because construction equipment blocked the center’s gate. The throng of children, who normally crowd the gate to see the soldiers, ran toward the Humvees in hopes of getting some candy just minutes before the blast ripped apart the gate.

ASSESSING VOTER TURNOUT

By 10 a.m., three hours after the polls opened, Khanaqin voting was strong. In Jalula, a possible roadside bomb had slowed the voting, and there was little turnout so far at As Sa’diyah, the site of two rocket-propelled grenade attacks involving the 278th last week. At Qara Tapa, a mortar attack at an election site left one casualty, a young boy.

While returning to Cobra, the convoy received radio reports of people digging holes along a roadside leading to the U.S. camp. The Humvees reversed course and soon were joined by two tanks facing a group of six Iraqi men digging a ditch beside an irrigation canal.

With the barrels from both tanks and mounted .50-caliber machine guns providing cover, a group of soldiers approached the men on foot to ensure they were not planting a bomb. Convinced the men carried only shovels, the 278th convoy completed its journey back to Cobra. By 12:30 p.m., seven of nine polling sites in Jalula, one of the more volatile cities under the 3rd Squadron’s domain, reported turnout among registered voters at 50 percent or more. The numbers included three sites boasting participation rates of 80 percent or more.

While eating pizzas in the mess hall, the 278th soldiers stared at the satellite television sets and smiled at the news of similar high voter turnout across Iraq.

There would be no major terror events here this day. A soldier with a bump on his head and an Iraqi election official who collapsed from exhaustion were the only two patients treated at the mass casualties tents set up by the medical staff. The boy hit in the mortar attack at Qara Tapa died before reaching a hospital, according to reports.

By nightfall, inside the Morale, Welfare and Recreation room, soldiers lined up to call home and talk about their parts in election day.

"It was a catastrophic success," said one soldier waiting on a couch.

Around 10 p.m., Iraqi election officials arrived on base and unloaded 131 boxes stuffed with the poster-sized election ballots. The clear plastic boxes looked like storage bins sold at Wal-Mart. The ballots and the elections officials stayed overnight here Sunday under constant guard.

Lt. Col. Jeff Holmes, commander of the 3rd Squadron, soon posted a letter around camp congratulating his soldiers on being a part of world history. "When you finally lay down your head to rest, I want you to think of how many people you have helped by your actions over the past two days," Lt. Col. Holmes wrote.

E-mail Lee Pitts at lpitts@timesfreepress.com

U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika - Iraqi election officials load ballot boxes onto the back of a truck outside a polling site Sunday night in the town of Jalula while being guarded by Iraqi security forces and members of the 278th Regimental Combat Team.

U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika - Two Iraqi women from Jalula walk to a polling site Sunday.

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