Publication:Chattanooga Times Free Press
Date:Saturday, April 2, 2005
Section:Front Page; Page:1

By Edward Lee Pitts
Military Affairs

CAMP CALDWELL, Iraq -- Soldiers with the 278th Regimental Combat Team captured an insurgent on a military most wanted list during a night raid that officials said was the regiment's first air assault combat mission here.

Elements of 1st Squadron's Apache Troop descended from the sky in several Blackhawk helicopters early Friday morning and conducted a series of home searches. Soldiers nabbed a suspected insurgent on a list of targets maintained by the 42nd Infantry Division, which oversees the 278th.

The unit also detained a second individual for questioning.

"It was a pretty good hit," said Capt. Dale Bradley, commander of the Cleveland, Tenn.,-based Apache Troop. "It was the best night I've had since I've been here."

U.S. soldiers also confiscated computers and literature that may help track down other insurgents in a suspected terrorist cell operating in Balad Ruz, according to Lt. Col. Mark Hart, 1st Squadron commander. Planning for the mission began five weeks ago.

U.S. Special Forces and elements of an Iraqi army battalion assisted in the raids, which occurred south of Balad Ruz, a town about 15 miles west of Camp Caldwell. The mission took place just hours after insurgents ambushed and killed the police chief of Balad Ruz.

No shots were fired during the 1st Squadron's mission. One 278th soldier suffered a broken ankle while exiting a helicopter.

The raid started after about 40 Apache soldiers jumped out of the helicopters and headed toward several targeted homes. Apache helicopter gunships provided air cover during the searches. Other 278th soldiers waited nearby in Humvees to provide ground security for the soldiers in the raid.

Soldiers quickly searched five dwellings and jumped back into the helicopters to fly to the next targeted area, Capt. Bradley said.

Using night vision goggles and shining white lights at the surprised residents, Apache soldiers searched three additional houses where they turned up the suspected insurgent.

Cpl. James Goode, 37, of Cleveland, Tenn., said soldiers caught the suspect, still wearing his sleeping clothes, just inside the courtyard of his home. Soldiers commanded the suspect to get down by motioning to the ground with their M-4 rifles. When he failed to comply, the soldiers physically put him down and handcuffed him, according to Cpl. Goode.

"It was a real adrenaline rush," said Cpl. Goode, adding that the raid was the first air assault mission for about 95 percent of the soldiers.

Soldiers restraining the man discovered he was missing a leg when his prosthetic limb fell off, Cpl. Goode said.

"I am glad we got him," he said of the suspected financier of insurgent activity. "He will be going away for a long time."

As soldiers searched the house, Cpl. Goode said he noticed there were nine children in the family.

"I feel bad for his family because his nine children are now victims," he said.

With helicopters skimming just 200 feet above ground to avoid power lines while Humvees filled with soldiers navigating a canal system and back roads, Lt. Col. Hart said he was pleased so many moving parts resulted in just one injury.

"It was a combat zone out there with helicopters coming in and artillery going out," he said.

Soldiers back at Camp Caldwell used artillery to fire nine illumination rounds over Balad Ruz to provide light for the elements of Apache Troop, including tanks, that responded to a deadly assault on the Iraqi police force.

Between 10 and 15 insurgents attacked and killed Col. Hatim Rashid, the Balad Ruz police chief, around 9:30 p.m. as he tried to leave the town's satellite police station in his car. The attack also killed a police officer and injured another.

When 1st Squadron soldiers arrived at the scene, grenades, pieces of AK-47 rifles and shell casings littered the street.

Cpl. Goode said the soldiers in the raid heard about the Iraqi police casualties while on the flight line with the Blackhawks preparing to depart for their own surprise raid.

"We were pumped to get some payback," he said.

Capt. Bradley said it was one of the more active nights in Balad Ruz with soldiers participating in the raid, providing back-up and patrolling in the aftermath of the police chief's assassination.

"We had the whole company out there," he said.

Lt. Col. Hart said Apache Troop might have captured more insurgents if the insurgents had not been attacking Iraqi security forces.

After a surge in attacks leading up to the January elections, insurgents have regrouped and are focusing on targets such as Iraqis working with U.S. forces or in the new government, he said.

"Until these guys get dealt a crushing blow, they will continue to operate," Lt. Col. Hart said.

The goal of the insurgency is to make the average citizen doubt the abilities of the Iraqi security forces, he said.

"If the police chief can't maintain his own safety, what can everybody else expect?" asked Lt. Col. Hart.

Capt. Bradley said he hoped dropping from the sky onto unsuspecting insurgents sent a message to the area.

"When the situation warrants it, we can appear from anywhere," he said.

E-mail Lee Pitts at lpitts@timesfreepress.com

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