News Article

Third Platoon, Squadron 1, of the 278th Regimental Combat Team, is housed in these semi-permanent tents inside giant grain sheds just outside of Samarra, Iraq. The Third Platoon’s howitzer battery’s guidon pennant is displayed using a captured Iraqi mortar as a stand. (Photo by Lt. Will Sarrell)

By: John Carpenter & 1LT Will Sarrell
Source: The Herald-News
01-02-2005

While most Rhea Countians celebrated a relatively normal, uneventful Christmas holiday, for a dozen or so local men 6,680 miles from Rhea County, Christmas was anything but normal.

Eighteen Rhea Countians representing Dayton’s Detachment 1, Howitzer Battery, Squadron 1 of the Tennessee Army National Guard’s 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment left Dayton in June and spent six months training before deploying to Iraq earlier this month. They are currently based just outside of Samarra, Iraq, about 70 miles north of Baghdad.

First Lieutenant Will Sarrell of Dayton was the commanding officer of “Det 1”, a designation that no longer exists since its soldiers have been scattered throughout the 278th. Sarrell currently serves as fire direction officer for 3rd Platoon’s Howitzer Battery. Still, Sarrell feels like the soldiers of “Det 1” are all still his men and tries to stay in regular contact with most of them.

The following article was written by Lt. Sarrell to update Rhea Countians on the activities of its National Guard unit in Iraq.

About six Dayton soldiers are serving with me in 3rd Platoon, HOW BTRY, 1/278th RCT (Regimental Combat Team—the designation changed when we deployed to Iraq) on Forward Operating Base (FOB) Brassfield-Mora, outside of Samarra.

FOB Brassfield-Mora is named in memory of two 4th Infantry Division soldiers killed in a mortar attack Oct 23, 2003, in Samarra. The base, about 1km by 1km [about four-tenths of a square mile], is a former state granary. The grain is currently under the protection of U.S. forces in exchange for use of the facilities as a FOB. The granary was a distribution site for central Iraq, with over thirty grain sheds, each about the size of a football field. Today, many of the sheds house the tents and Containerized Housing Units (CHUs) of the soldiers in the 1st Infantry Division and supporting units. There are also several Patrol Bases inside the city of Samarra.

Third platoon, known as the Regulators, is tasked with supporting the 1st Infantry’s patrols in the city with timely and accurate artillery fires. The Regulators also provide counter-fires in the event the patrol bases or the FOB are attacked by insurgent mortars. The counter-fire response comes from the M109A6 Paladin howitzer, firing 155mm artillery rounds weighing about 100 pounds each, capable of spreading shrapnel over a 600-meter diameter.

So far, the Regulators have had no opportunity to interact with the local populace. Due to mission constraints, we stay on the FOB and close to our guns. I work in the Fire Direction Center as Fire Direction Officer. It is my job to verify all target information and that the round will not only leave the FOB safely, but also that it will hit the intended target. Like many fields in the civilian sector, we use a sophisticated computer to help us deliver devastating effects on the enemy. The strong probability of fast and accurate 155mm counter-fire definitely plays a part in an insurgent’s decision to lob only a limited number of mortars before exiting the immediate area quick, fast, and in a hurry!

For the most part, however, life here is a bore. I once heard that combat is 99 percent boredom, but that the remaining 1 percent is the most intense action ever experienced. For the time being, however, we wait. We work 24/7 and in shifts. The soldiers spend down time in a number of activities, including working out in the gym; keeping in touch with home via Morale Welfare & Recreation phones and Internet connections; watching DVDs, reading, listening to music, or other activities in the CHUs (pre-fabricated metal trailers); and sleeping in preparation for the next shift. It sounds like a full schedule, but it isn’t. You can check your email or watch another DVD only so many times before you go nuts. Some guys are taking correspondence courses or learning a new hobby to help pass the time.

Unexpected problems we’ve encountered include getting used to trekking outside our living quarters for about 200 yards to our assigned shower trailer, not to mention going about 75 yards to the nearest portajohn. We have no indoor plumbing in our CHUs. At least we now have CHUs. We only just moved out of our quasi-hut platoon tent on Dec 26. We’ve been in the tent since we arrived here on two Chinook transport helicopters in the dead of night on Dec 9. It’s quite unnerving to walk out of the back of a twin-rotary helicopter into a black, moonless night in a hostile area. It was a few minutes before we were greeted and directed where to take our gear and bed down for the night. Standing out in the open, at the edge of the tarmac and with the din of the helicopters behind us, we felt very vulnerable to the possibility of incoming mortars.

We spent the next ten days taking over positions from the outgoing unit from North Carolina. To these soldiers, the Regulators were a welcome sight. Our appearance meant that the soldiers of A Battery, 3/115th FA would soon be reunited with their families. We assured each other that our time will come next year.

Christmas was not as meaningful this year to many of these soldiers. Many commented to me that it didn’t even seem like Christmas and for this, they were thankful. One soldier explained that if it really felt like Christmas, he’d have a harder time being separated from his family. Personally, I realized that although I miss my family, the primary focus of Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Christ. I can do that anywhere.

The dining facility—that’s the proper name for what soldiers always call the mess hall or chow hall—served a special Christmas dinner to the patrol bases downtown in Samarra on Christmas Eve. The FOB was served Christmas dinner on Dec 25. The menu included turkey, ham, roast beef, Cornish hen, shrimp cocktail, green beans, stuffing, sweet potatoes, corn, and other fixings. Although it was not exactly like home, the cooks did the best they could with what they had available.

All the North Carolina artillery soldiers have left. Now, the Regulators must settle into a routine that we hope will make our time go a bit faster. We were assured by the departing soldiers that our time will fly by. We all hope this is true.

Mail is a bit sparse still. I received a Christmas card and two packages from the Dayton FRG [Family Resource Group] on Christmas Eve that were postmarked Dec 10. So, the [Herald-News] hasn’t had enough time to get through the holiday crush.

Take Care and God bless, Will Sarrell, 1LT 3rd Platoon, HOW BTRY, 1/278th RCT

Story Copyright to Rhea County Online