News Article

By: BILL JONES/Staff Writer
Source: The Greeneville Sun
02-05-2005

Tennessee National Guardsmen from the former Greeneville-based Troop G of the 278th Regimental Combat Team played a vital role in the Jan. 30 Iraqi elections, according to their squadron’s commanding officer.

Lt. Col. Frank McCauley, commander of the 278th Regimental Combat Team’s 2nd Squadron, responded by electronic mail on Friday to a Greeneville Sun reporter’s inquiry about how the unit was faring in Iraq.

In that response, Lt. Col. McCauley noted that the 2nd Squadron, which is based at Forward Operating Base Bernstein near the Iraqi city of Tuz, had been busy arresting suspected anti-Iraqi forces (AIF) prior to the Jan. 30 Iraqi election.

“We were very successful in that endeavor,” he wrote. “We put more AIF in our detention facility in six weeks time than the previous unit did in their entire tour here. “We've been very aggressive and successful in our combat patrols by combining all of our combat multipliers and focusing our intelligence-gathering assets on particular AIF cells in our area of operations.”

As a result, Lt. Col. McCauley wrote, the 2nd Squadron soldiers had been able “to act decisively and put a large dent in the AIF's ability to conduct operations against us and against the good people of Iraq.”

Election Day Tense

Lt. Col. McCauley reported that election day in Iraq had been “tense for the entire unit.”

“We were prepared for the worst, but it never materialized,” he wrote. “The Iraqi police and Army was very well-prepared and really stepped up to the plate on election day.”

The squadron commander also stated in his electronic mail message that there had been a “tremendous” voter turnout for the election in the 2nd Squadron’s area of operations in northeastern Iraq.

Troops Escorted Ballots

“I had the honor of being on the escort missions for the delivery of blank ballots from Tikrit to Tuz as well as the return convoy with the completed ballots,” Lt. Col. McCauley wrote.

“Our scout platoon, which is basically comprised of Greeneville’s Troop G, conducted both of the missions (in which) we escorted Iraqi trucks that were hauling the ballots. I told the scouts that they were a part of history as was the entire 278th Regiment.”

Lt. Col. McCauley noted that the city of Tuz is located in Iraq’s Sulayah Ad Din province. The capital of that province, he wrote, is Tikrit, the hometown of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

“Initial reports indicate that we had the largest voter turnout in the entire province,” Lt. Col. McCauley wrote.

“There are about 77,000 Iraqi citizens eligible to vote in our area of operations, and over 55,000 voted in this first election. So obviously, we are very proud of this election and proud of the courage the Iraqi people demonstrated by coming out to vote.”

Compared To July 4th

Lt. Col. McCauley noted in his message that some Iraqis with whom he had spoken had compared Jan. 30, the date of the first free Iraqi elections in more than 50 years, to America’s Independence Day.

“One Kurdish gentleman told me that Jan. 30th for Iraq is like the Fourth of July for the United States of America,” Lt. Col. McCauley wrote.

“I couldn’t have said it better myself! We are very proud and honored to have been a part of the birth of a free nation and democratic government.”

Thanks For Prayers

He also said that he wanted “to thank everyone back home for their prayers and support.”

More than 60 citizen-soldiers from the Tennessee Army National Guard’s Greeneville-based Troop G are now serving in Iraq.

Troop G, however, ceased to exist as an individual unit when the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment was called to active duty last June.

Its soldiers were subsequently divided between the 2nd Squadron’s Kingsport-based Headquarters Troop and its Erwin-based H Company, a tank unit.

The National Guardsmen spent the summer and early fall training at Camp Shelby, Miss., and Ft. Irwin, Calif., before being sent first to Kuwait, and subsequently to Iraq late last year.

The local National Guardsmen were slated to spend about a year in Iraq before returning to the U.S.

Story Copyright to Greeneville Sun