Clearing the routes of IEDs and taking the fight to Al Qaeda
Well, the first week here is done -- only seven more to go in this front-line embed. So far, there have been several interesting and eye-opening experiences (more on this site, under the tab labeled "from the field").
I'm back at Forward Operating Base Hammer tonight, home of 3rd Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade. In the morning, I'll be mounting up with some real unsung heroes of the coalition in this country -- a US Army Engineer unit called a "route clearance team." These men -- every single day -- drive all of the main roads southeast of Baghdad, from FOB Hammer, to Jisr Diyala, to Salman Pak and back, at 5 mph or less, looking for Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). Their task is basically to locate the IEDs and either to dismount and blow them up, or to run them over and "take one for the team," getting blown up in their incredibly armored vehicles so that no thinner-skinned trucks will suffer that fate.
It should be interesting. I'll be getting back to COP Cahill around 7pm local time, and then will be on the Laura Ingraham show shortly afterward (at 11:15am Eastern Time).
The next day and night will consist of patrols and air assault missions into al Qaeda strongholds just south of Salman Pak.
Keep all of us in your prayers, and check in at http://www.jeffemanuel.com for updates. Also, check in with the Weekly Standard and Human Events online, as they'll be running a few of my articles from here in the next couple days.
Labels: Blog
1 Comments:
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At 12:01 AM,
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Is there anyway to catch the re-run of that show with Laura??
My soldier is at COP Cahill with B/Co 1-15 and I'm always up for finding more videos and pictures and interviews about over there.