HEADLINE: Training simulates Iraq combat

EDITOR'S NOTE: Ryan Seals is with the 278th Regimental Combat Team's 190th Engineer Company. The Times Free Press runs an occasional column from Spc. Seals.

The 190th Engineer Company stood outside the city of Trebil, Iraq, in the late morning of Aug. 20, poised and ready to fight.

In this serious but make-believe training exercise, the town had been over run by insurgents. Local police were struggling to restore order. Intelligence sources had reported that Murat Kazil and Hamid Albedham, two top al-Qaida operatives, had commandeered the town hall and were using it to hold weapons caches. Our company had received orders from battalion to secure the building, capture Kazil and Albedham and seize all weapons inside.

We had to approach the town with caution because a bigger and more important prize was at stake: the trust of the townspeople. Driving out the insurgency and restoring order meant the town might swing in our favor, become stable and begin the long road to recovery after decades of war. Failure could lead the citizens to turn on us and join the insurgency; the town could become a breeding ground for terrorism.

Fortunately, this time the mission wasn't real -- just very realistic. It was the conclusion of four days of training on military operations in an urban terrain here at Camp Shelby, Miss.

The insurgents and civilians were actors, the bullets were blanks and the buildings were trailers made into a town. The stress the mission created helped us understand the type of mentality we will need overseas.

During this training mission, we had to be cautious of our surroundings, being careful not to do something to turn the townspeople against us. This included the goal of going throughout the mission without firing a single shot. We also had to move quickly but carefully -- one wrong move could mean disaster.

My squad, Alpha team, had drawn the task of clearing the lobby, while Bravo and Charlie teams cleared other parts of the building, including the second story. We were backed up by the Assault and Obstacle platoon, which secured the outside of the building, keeping civilians from getting in and, more importantly, keeping the terrorists from getting out.

With the sun beating down on us, we received word to move out. The A&O quickly strung wire around the building as our platoon rushed to set up our positions outside the building. As we prepared to move in, dozens of angry citizens assembled in protest in front of the building. The chants of "Bush Bush Ali Baba" (Bush is a thief) and "Go home USA" were deafening as moved into the building.

We drew our weapons as we entered the first room -- no one was there.

As we set up our positions, we heard over the radio that Bravo team had captured Kazil, and they were requesting an extraction team to remove him from the building and take him into custody.

Meanwhile, Charlie team prepared to move to the second floor in search of Albedham. They crept up the stairway as they anticipated receiving fire at any moment. They found a few civilians but saw no sign of Albedham until one of the soldiers noticed a boarded area in the corner of the room.

As they pulled back the board, Albedham appeared and attempted to jump out of a window to escape. But his attempt fell short, and he was quickly detained. In his hideout was an AK-47 assault rifle, a rocket-propelled grenade launcher and a variety of ammunition.

Despite those successes, our goal of securing the building without any shots fired fell short. The A&O platoon fired shots into the crowd when Kazil made an escape attempt as he was led away from the building. He was killed, and violence erupted from the protesters.

With the mission complete, we rallied across the street from the town hall and loaded into our vehicles as the protesters banged against our windows with shoes.

Events unfolded so quickly that we were left with very little time to think about our actions. We had to rely on our training and the instincts the training had created. It was about teamwork, trusting your fellow soldiers and the importance of communication in a combat zone.

Reflecting later on the training exercise, we considered the mistakes we made and learned how to improve on our shortcomings.

With the lessons we learned from this mission and the many others we completed, we can take confidence in knowing once the training stops and combat begins, we'll be ready.

From: Chattanooga Times Free Press Link

1. Unexpected deployment to Iraq was 'like a punch in the gut'

2. Training life brings change, challenge Link

3. Return to Ryan's Experience Page Link