Publication:Chattanooga Times Free Press
Date:Thursday, December 23, 2004
Section:Front Page; Page:1

DISPATCH IRAQ

By Edward Lee Pitts Military Affairs

CAMP CALDWELL, Iraq — Officers here said Wednesday that security measures are in place at the bases occupied by members of the 278th Regimental Combat Team both to prevent and react to incidents similar to Tuesday’s deadly mess hall attack in Mosul. Lt. Col. Gerald Waddle, the 278th’s regimental force protection coordinator, said it is difficult to guard fully against unexpected attacks. But he said patrols are dispersed both inside and outside Camp Caldwell to make sure possible insurgents do not get within mortar firing range.

"It’s an extremely large base, and our dining facility is toward the center of it," Lt. Col. Waddle said. "It is more secure and out of range of most mortar fire."

Tuesday’s blast appeared to be a suicide attack by a person wearing explosives, not a rocket or mortar as initially thought, Gen. Richard Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Wednesday, according to Cox News Service.

The attack killed 14 U.S. military personnel along with four U.S. civilians, three members of the Iraqi National Guard and one unidentified individual who was not a U.S. citizen, according to the New York Times News Service. The attack injured 69 people.

At Camp Caldwell, Lt. Col. Waddle said the flat desert surroundings in a largely rural area help with security.

The landscape, for example, would make it easier to spot insurgents setting up mortars, he said.

"If they are in our line of sight, we will see them from our towers," Lt. Col. Waddle said.

Capt. Matt Handley, the public affairs officer for the 30th Brigade Combat Team, which the 278th is replacing, said Camp Caldwell suffered only one rocket attack during the 30th’s 10 months on base. The fired rocket didn’t even land inside the base, he said.

Chief Warrant Officer Joyce Simpson, of Athens, Tenn., the regiment’s mess hall supervisor, said the mess hall at Camp Caldwell is a prefabricated structure stronger than the tents housing the dining area in Mosul. She said the facility, which serves more than 5,000 meals a day, is operated with tight security.

"We do ID anyone in civilian clothes who does not have our uniform on," she said.

Officials with the 278th said there are no plans at this time to alter eating schedules as a result of Tuesday’s attack. Meals are served in blocks of about two hours, and soldiers come and go during that block of time so they are not all gathered in the mess hall at the same time.

Lt. Col. Timothy Mauldin, the 30th’s chief medical officer, said medical units at all bases conduct monthly drills to prepare in case of a disaster with mass casualties.

"We have gone over exercises to include the one that happened at Mosul where there might be an area such as a DFAC (dining facility) where lots of soldiers may be gathered at one time," he said.

Lt. Col. Mauldin said the exercises, including one held here Tuesday, are conducted during daytime, night and in dust storm conditions. The objective is to use all available vehicles to move the injured to proper medical treatment centers as fast as possible, he said.

Camp Caldwell benefits from having a team of two surgeons and 17 support staffers running an on-site operating room, Lt. Col. Mauldin said.

"That is a life-saver, being able to go right to an operating room real quick," he said.

In addition, Camp Caldwell is a level-two medical facility housing an additional seven doctors and other physician assistants, nurses and X-ray technicians, Lt. Col. Mauldin said.

Camps Cobra and Bernstein, the other bases in the 278th’s sector, are level-one facilities with about one doctor and about 16 medics each, he said.

"Their capability is life support, to get them from there to here," he said.

A full-scale, level-three military hospital, operated by the U.S. Air Force, is a quick helicopter ride away at Logistical Support Area Anaconda, Lt. Col. Mauldin said.

Lt. Col. Waddle, of Knoxville, said 278th forces at all three bases will work closely with Iraqi police and Iraqi National Guard troops to track down any leads on potential insurgents operating in the area.

Each base has a security response plan that is tested and evaluated quarterly, he said.

Lt. Col. Waddle said it is small comfort to the victims of Tuesday’s blast, but most mortar attacks by insurgents are ineffective.

"They shoot and run as quick as they can, because they know if they stay, they will get caught," he said. "The odds are against them shooting and hitting a target. The firing is to harass and scare us."

E-mail Lee Pitts at lpitts@timesfreepress.com

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