A
Message from the Commander
June 25,
2003
Dear Families
and Friends of the 203rd:
As I have
done before, I wanted to take a few minutes to update
you on the status of our operations here.
We are now
part of a new headquarters. You have probably read something
about them in the paper, they are the new headquarters
tasked with coordinating all the efforts to find and eliminate
Iraqi's WMD program.
Our overall
group is headed up by an Australian Brigadier General
and still consists of the 203rd, a company of long-range
surveillance infantry soldiers that support us with security
and of course, the UK and Australian analysts with us.
For many,
we have settled into an effective routine. Each day we
go to various sites, based on the latest intelligence
reports we have. Sometimes, these reports are accurate
and we find the type of items we are looking for and sometimes
the reports are not accurate and we find nothing or not
the things we were supposed to find. Just like a baseball
player is happy if he can get a hit one out of three times,
we do not expect complete success with every mission.
But even those missions where we find nothing are important
in that we "check off" that place as a place
to look, and we move that much closer to finishing the
mission. Also, some missions will look for artillery rounds,
as an example, which means those specialists we may have
in radios do not get to exercise their skills on that
particular day. But these skills are very important to
have for those times that missions require them. Everyone
is doing great and contributing. Every day we collect
items on the coalition and national requirements list.
At the same
time, the Bravo company elements have been doing a great
job warehousing, packing and exploiting the equipment
we have collected, from several different locations in
Iraq. The non-commissioned officers have really performed
superbly in conditions that are extremely difficult. HHC
continues to support our soldiers magnificently from multiple
locations and is taking the lead in moving us. Alpha and
Charlie continue to provide great intelligence through
their collection efforts. The 203rd forms the majority
of the coalition operations, from personnel to logistics
staff efforts.
Our living
conditions continue to improve each day. We have gravity
(not pressure) showers and one to two hot meals a day.
We are expecting air conditioners soon and were thrilled
to get our port-a-potties last week (as thrilled as you
can get over toilets, anyway). All in all, things could
be much more difficult for us.
Baghdad and
the surrounding areas can sometimes be a dangerous place
and we are very aware of this. As such we take every reasonable
precaution prior to launching a mission. This week, we
had our first incident where one of our mission convoys
encountered the enemy. No one in the 203rd proper was
hurt but four soldiers from our infantry security/force
protection detachment received minor shrapnel wounds and
a vehicle was disabled. From the initial assessment, it
appears that an IED, or improvised explosive device -
which is another way of saying a homemade bomb - was used.
The convoy was traveling on a busy interstate type road,
when the IED was detonated in the median. No one was purposely
targeting the 203rd; it was essentially being "in
the wrong place at the wrong time" during a random
event. The soldiers and the leaders involved did everything
correctly and quickly left the scene. Later the same day,
all the injured soldiers were returned to duty. Those
family members of those involved should be very proud
of how calm and focused everyone was in a very chaotic
situation. If you had a loved one involved in the incident,
they have already been given time to contact you.
Every day,
we practice and rehearse our convoy procedures and what
we are to do, in the unlikely case that something like
this happens. And as you can see, the training and leadership
paid off.
While I am
sure it is upsetting to learn of something like this,
I hope you remember a few things: we have run hundreds
of missions and this is the first time this has happened;
second, we always and constantly assess the enemy situation
prior to any mission or movement and we only execute those
missions where the risk is low; third, this event was
random. We cannot guarantee that nothing will happen but
we are doing everything possible to mitigate the risks.
Over the next
several weeks we will bring everyone to BIAP, continue
our collection missions and get ready to redeploy Alpha
Company. Alpha company is the active component company
that has been in theater since January. It is too early
to begin to discuss redeployment for the rest of the battalion
as many soldiers have only been in country six to eight
weeks and we have many items left to collect, exploit,
package and send to the coalition countries. Hopefully
in the next few notes that I send to you, I will have
some more information on this front.
Thank you
for your support and the love you are sending our soldiers.
It is vital that they know you are with them. If it is
an issue that the Family Support Group/Rear Detachment
cannot handle or if there is some battalion wide issue
you wish to discuss, please contact me directly at [email protected].
Our email access is somewhat limited, but if you are patient,
I will promise to reply.
Regards,
LTC Young
Commander
203rd MI Bn
Making
a mark in Military History…
New
Address for BRAVO CO...