Publication:Chattanooga Times Free Press
Date:Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Section:Front Page; Page:1

By Edward Lee Pitts Military Affairs

CAMP CALDWELL, Iraq — The constant swarm of soldiers around Col. Dennis Adams means the 278th Regimental Combat Team commander hasn’t gotten much alone time in Iraq.

Wherever the head of this Tennessee-based National Guard unit travels, a sizable security detail is close beside, ahead, behind and even above him. Walking into a room with bodyguards normally reserved for heads of state and movie stars has taken some getting used to, the former teacher and coach said.

"Having someone around you 24/7 makes you feel like you are in detention or time out," Col. Adams said. "But I have to remind myself it is not Dennis Adams they are guarding. It is the regimental commander. All the Iraqis know who I am now." Other top soldiers such as the squadron commanders and the unarmed chaplains receive protection, but not on the scale of Col. Adams’ security detail.

Shadowing the commander’s every move using a 16-member personal security detachment team is necessary because military intelligence uncovers threats against the top commander about once a month, officials said.

"It would be a big loss to the U.S. Army to lose a full bird colonel," said Spc. Keith Fields, a security detachment team member from Madisonville, Tenn.

Lt. Kevin Wilson, the officer in charge of the unit, said having the security detachment frees Col. Adams to focus on his daily tasks without having to worry about his safety.

"The best compliment we can have is the commander never knows what is going on outside of one of his meetings," said Lt. Wilson, 34, of Knoxville.

The security unit includes a medic, a former bodyguard, a surveyor, a woods survivalist, a former nuclear facility security office worker, police officers, a martial arts expert and a marksman.

The unit clears buildings, sets up temporary roadblocks, searches vehicles and coordinates with civilian bodyguards brought by the Iraqi and U.S. leaders with whom Col. Adams interacts on a typical day.

By heading the former cavalry regiment before deploying here, 278th commanders were accustomed to being out in front of a fight leading troops trained to scout the enemy. But with the transformation to a combat team, officials had to start the personal security detachment unit from scratch, according to Col. Adams. The unit was bulked up recently after Col. Adams wore out his initial detachment of eight soldiers, according to Lt. Wilson. Col. Adams cannot shake his old habits as a cavalryman and feels most comfortable outside the base, which poses special challenges to the security unit. According to Sgt. Mike Earles, 52, of Kingsport, Tenn., the commander’s driver, Col. Adams has traveled more than 14,000 miles in his first five months in Iraq.

The security team is along for every mile, and long hours are the norm. The unit’s soldiers once pulled a 38-hour "day" and often work from 70 to 90 hours a week, members said. On missions the unit has slept on and beside vehicles, inside cat-infested tents and on the summit of cold, windy mountains.

"We are basically underpaid bodyguards," said Spc. Keith Bradley, 43, of Sevierville, Tenn. Providing protection includes overseeing the commander’s convoy as well as site security wherever the commander’s mission takes him.

"A lot of people can stand down when they reach their destination," Spc. Fields said. "But our job is constant."

For a recent meeting at a nearby border crossing with Iran, Col. Adams’ security detachment sprang into action as soon as the convoy entered a carport attached to the building where the meeting would be held. Spc. Fields picked a nearby high spot as the unit’s sniper; Spc. James Reser, 34, of Knoxville, set up a roadblock on the street leading to the meeting; and Sgt. Nathan Benson, 21, of Oliver Springs, Tenn., walked stride-for-stride behind Col. Adams. Meanwhile, other soldiers in the unit began breaking down a security plan for the colonel’s next stop.

"Our version of Murphy’s Law is anything that can change does change," said Spc. Josh Sadler, 25, of Knoxville.

The security detachment’s soldiers walk a tightrope between being friendly to the Iraqis and projecting enough power and fear to discourage anyone from trying to harm the colonel.

"We have to shake people’s hands, but at the same time we have to be able to kill them," said Spc. Josh Berry, 24, of Tellico Plains, Tenn.

If contact with the enemy does occur, Lt. Wilson and his men have about three minutes to determine whether to evacuate or stand and fight, they said. While a full-scale attack with insurgents has yet to occur around Col. Adams, there have been a few tense moments, the soldiers said.

Earlier in the deployment the security personnel became nervous while Col. Adams visited with local sheiks. Outside the meeting anti-American rhetoric blasted from the speakers of a mosque across the street. Army translators told the 278th soldiers the afternoon sermons were intended to inflame the locals by condemning U.S. forces and anyone working with them. Last month, as Col. Adams enjoyed lunch under a shady grove after handing out some donated items during a goodwill mission, a radio call announcing a fierce firefight south of Balad Ruz forced the security team into immediate action.

"You go from a picnic in a nice little village to calling in an AC-130 gunship, and the next day you are picking up Iraqi bodies and searching through the bushes for possible survivors," Spc. Berry said.

The soldiers assigned to man the mounted weapons on the roofs of each Humvee that day had to stay on their guns from 7:30 a.m. until noon the next day without taking a break.

Despite such hardships, the Personal Security Detachment assignment has its perks, according to Staff Sgt. David Willett, 33, of Loudon, Tenn. The soldiers guarding Col. Adams said they get to see more of Iraq, meet more VIPs and see more historic events than the average enlisted soldier stuck patrolling the same section of desert.

"We’ve been everywhere north of As Sulaymaniyah (a Kurdish city) and south of Baghdad," Staff Sgt. Willett said. "Everyone in the regiment wonders what the colonel does, and we get to see it."

Spc. James Voss, 27, of Murfreesboro, Tenn., said all the traveling has taught him that people in the smaller villages are much more friendly to Americans because they are not as afraid of being punished by insurgents for their openness.

But, soldiers said, there is little "down time" and they are isolated from much of the regiment. Sgt. Benson said security does not end once the colonel arrives safely back at Camp Caldwell. To guard against the possibility of a confrontation with a disgruntled 278th soldier, members of the security unit sit near Col. Adams when he eats in the mess hall, follow him as he walks around base and stand outside his door as he sleeps.

"We go on missions to relax," Sgt. Benson said of the nonstop base detail.

Even when the unit gets to enjoy sights such as a bustling Kurdish marketplace, the security detachment soldiers can’t let their guard down.

"Recreation for somebody you protect is still work for us," Staff Sgt. Willett said.

The security will not ease until the unit arrives in Kuwait and will not end until the 278th members step off the plane back in the United States.

"When I get back it will be a weird feeling going to the grocery store by myself," Col. Adams said.

E-mail Lee Pitts at lpitts@timesfreepress.com

U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika - A soldier with the 278th Regimental Combat Team sits on top of a Humvee keeping watch over team commander Col. Dennis Adams.

U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika Col. Dennis Adams, commander of the 278th Regimental Combat Team, is surrounded by a security unit.

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