mySSnews

27 Sep 08
Forward Operating Base Falcon

It was a relatively pleasant night. I was sitting in my fold-up lawn chair outside my trailer listening to my iPod Touch (Motown Mix), reflecting on the hard-fought week and gazing at the stars. Slowly at first, then more rapidly, I saw a sign from the heavens coming down to me.

At first I thought the local bats were out in great numbers, but no, it wasn’t that. Then it seemed like ... it seemed like ... a ticker tape parade of confetti? But how could that be?

Now I could see what was happening — thousands and thousands of dollar bill-sized leaflets were floating down on FOB Falcon. I knew exactly what had just happened.

The greatest tool (or weapon) in a counterinsurgency fight (or insurgency, depending on which side you are on) is information. The local PSYOPS (Psychological Operations) team had just delivered their latest salvo.

These leaflets had the picture of a local insurgent leader that we are homing in on, and offered a substantial reward for information leading to his capture. This tool has proven to be effective — when dropped over the right villages.

Unfortunately, the UH-60 Blackhawk pilots who dropped the leaflets didn’t account for wind direction (rookies!) when they released their cargo. I’m sure they had the reload package ready to go by the time the pilots landed. Me, I’ve got a nice souvenir.

This past week has been exhausting, but equally rewarding, as we began construction of our future home: Patrol Base Jedi. One of the truly rewarding and invigorating aspects of an Army career is having opportunities to do such a wide variety of exciting and challenging things.

Case in point: I’m an Apache pilot (which is quite exciting and fulfilling on its own), yet here I am, advising a foreign army’s Brigadier General on how to conduct command and control of his forces, train his units to conduct infantry combat operations, and teach them how to sustain themselves with ongoing multi-level logistical operations. And now I’m overseeing the planning, design, coordination, and execution of building our own patrol base (in my free time, of course, when I’m not doing my primary job of advising).

I guess I should back up a little and explain why we are building a patrol base in the first place.

One of the principles of a successful counter-insurgency (from the Army’s recent field manual written by GEN Petraeus) recognizes how important it is for us to be as closely embedded with our Iraqi counterparts as possible.

The brigade that we advise is less than three months old, and it was just recently decided where they would build their brigade headquaters. Once we knew where they were going to be, we began to build our own patrol base in a corner of their compound. Right now, we “commute” to see them almost every day. This is a pain, although not unbearable.

But there are no “milk runs” in Iraq. If we need to go 500 meters outside the gate, it requires a full mounted combat patrol with a minimum of three MRAPs with machine guns mounted and full body armor.

Once our patrol base is complete, it will significantly reduce our mounted combat patrols since we would be right there with the Iraqi brigade. We’ll be able to meet with them not just daily, but multiple times per day, leveraging our advising time. It will also reduce our exposure to IEDs. That’s a good thing

This would be a good time to compare installation sizes so you can have a better idea of what our living conditions will be like. The populations are not the same, but this will help with the size and amenities each offers.

A “Fort” (like Fort Bragg or Fort Hood) is like a Dallas or Houston metro area – they have everything you could possibly need. There are none of these in Iraq.

A “Camp” is like Tyler — it has virtually everything you might need. There are two of these in the Baghdad area (they have a big PX and a pool!).

Next down the line are the Forward Operating Bases, or FOBs. They would be like Greenville or Sulphur Springs. A brigade-plus size element lives here. They have most of what you need and provide all the basic services. Our team is on a FOB now. There is an OK-sized PX that carries the basics and a good-sized mess hall with great food variety. There is laundry service here, a gym, internet service, and a place to relax and watch TV (large screen, no less), shoot pool, etc.

Next down the line are Combat Outposts, or COPs — think Quitman. Usually a battalion-sized element lives there. They do not have a PX or laundry. A PX and laundry run is made about once a week to the nearest FOB. They have a makeshift mess hall (think “M*A*S*H”), about 5 computers for internet for several hundred guys, some gym equipment and a small TV, but they still get their mail regularly.

At the bottom we have the patrol base. That is what we will have. Think of a camp site, but with concrete walls and a security surveillance system. With our 11 guys and 4 interpreters, we will have an additional squad-sized element assisting us with security and other specialty areas. We will have a total of about 25 guys. We will have a food and water log pack pushed to us about once every two weeks. We may only have camping-type showers and porta-johns. We may only be able to get mail once a week. That is where we will live for the remainder of our tour. No ETA on move-in yet; more to follow.

Before I close out for this week, I have to congratulate our very own SFC Kevin Connaughton. KC has been selected for promotion to Master Sergeant/E-8. This is an amazing feat since KC is only 31 years old! This is literally years ahead of schedule compared to the average E-8 in the Army. In fact, I was joking around with KC telling him that he may need to get some gray in his hair to be more believable! We are very proud of KC for this significant accomplishment.

Until next time, this is Jedi 6, out …

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