"You Do Not Know Who The Enemy Is" "He Melts Back Into Society" "The Battle Space Returns To The Insurgent Control"
Col. Robert Davis, who commanded the explosive ordnance disposal teams in Iraq, said that when a U.S. patrol leaves a street, "the battle space returns to the insurgent control."
By Greg Grant, Special to the Army Times
FORT IRWIN, Calif. - U.S. commanders grudgingly concede they remain a step behind insurgents' ever-adapting use of improvised explosive devices.
Detailing lessons learned from a yearlong combat tour in Iraq, Col. Mike Formica of the Army's 1st Cavalry Division said it's the insurgent, not the U.S. soldier, who "has the initiative when it comes to executing these operations."
Until an insurgent attacks, Formica said, "you do not know who the enemy is." And immediately after the attack, "he melts back into society."
Each time U.S. soldiers venture outside their heavily protected bases in Iraq, they enter a minefield that varies in structure, density and location every day, even every hour.
A U.S. patrol may drive down a Baghdad city street without incident only to return a few hours later along the same route to find a pile of garbage, a dead animal or a broken-down car, all of which may contain IEDs placed by insurgents who track U.S. movements.
Votel said IED "incidents" - the discovery or detonation of a bomb - have surged in recent months and currently run about 30 a day. An Army study showed that 93 percent of IED attacks occur in Baghdad.
From June 7 to June 16, IEDs killed 17 U.S. troops, and wounded an unknown number more.
The Pentagon has directed millions of dollars and countless hours trying to devise a technological counter to IEDs, but Votel was frank in his assessment that technology "offers no silver bullet." Despite attempts to develop high-tech detectors, U.S. commanders who recently returned from Iraq admit the best means of spotting an IED remains a pair of human eyes.
Col. Robert Davis, who commanded the explosive ordnance disposal teams in Iraq, said that when a U.S. patrol leaves a street, "the battle space returns to the insurgent control."
When U.S. forces added steel plating to their Humvees and increased the use of heavy tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles, the insurgents responded with sophisticated shaped-charge explosives that can penetrate even the thickest armor.
Votel said insurgents recently have targeted "iconic vehicles," such as the 70-ton Abrams tank, to show U.S. soldiers they're not safe no matter how much armor surrounds them.
Most frustrating to U.S. soldiers is the realization that their ability to defeat IEDs is limited. Trying to interrupt the supply of explosives won't work, Formica said, as there is no shortage of material for the bomb makers.
"This was a very militarized society with ammo plants and depots all over the country; by and large, many of those were unsecured," he said. "Forget the borders being open, it doesn't matter; (the enemy) has almost an endless supply in theater that he can tap into."
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July 4, 2005 Army Times
Stop-Loss Forcing Thousands to Stay in Army
Personnel records indicate nearly 22,000 active-component enlisted soldiers and officers who are in stop-loss status are beyond their scheduled separation or retirement-eligibility dates.
Under the active-component unit stop-loss program, soldiers generally are barred from voluntarily separating or retiring 90 days before and after a deployment, and during the deployment.
As of mid-June, the personnel files of 21,179 soldiers carry a tracking code of "S," which means their separation dates have been delayed because of stop-loss. The "S" numbers fluctuate but generally are in the 20,000 range, the Human Resources Command said.
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July 4, 2005 Army Times
Soldiers Arrested:
Wanted To Burn Flag
Some National Guard soldiers are donating blood in Rapid City, S.D., to make up for about 40 units reportedly destroyed by one of their comrades.
Serafin Delgado with the West Virginia National Guard, is accused of breaking into United Blood Services, causing thousands of dollars of damage, and destroying the blood units.
According to police, Delgado got into an argument with other members of his unit and said he wanted to burn an American flag. Reports indicate he found one at the Blood Services office but couldn't pull it off the pole, so he broke into the building.
Delgado is being held in the Pennington County Jail.