Rocketed!
I missed this incident from a couple weeks back - sorry, I have to concentrate better.
Activity by coalition and anti-coalition forces in Northern Iraq generally takes place in the evening and night - seldom during the day. The cover of darkness provides security for the good guys and the bad guys alike. Daylight attacks are rare in this area but they do happen. This is what happened during one such daylight attack.
Soldiers when not on patrol, guard duty or other detail have some free time to write letters, use the Internet, play video games, etc. In the middle of the afternoon the FOB (Forward Operating Base) in Tal Afar was rocked by repeated explosions. Soldiers stop what they are doing and exit buildings immediately when attacks such as these occur. They either move to protective bunkers or to defensive positions. Iraqi insurgents had launched a rocket and mortar attack on the FOB. Generally the attacks are a nuisance because in their haste to set up, fire and run the Iraqi attackers don't take time to aim.
The SBCT uses radar installations to track incoming rockets and mortar rounds. Information about the trajectory of the incoming rounds is sent to computers in the artillery positions at the speed of light and return fire commences within a couple minutes. Iraqi attackers shoot and scoot quickly to keep from becoming casualties.
This attack was unlucky for the FOB though. One of the mortar rounds scored a direct hit on the base finance office. Three Stryker Soldiers working in the office were severely wounded and had to be transported to Germany to receive medical attention. Luckily no one was killed and the Soldiers injured in the attack will fully recover.
The attack and injuries are serious enough but the aftermath of the attack was even worse for a lot of the guys. The finance office is the easiest way for Stryker Soldiers to get money to use for local purchases, to use the Internet connections ($2.00 for thirty minutes) and to buy items at the makeshift base PX - they withdraw the funds from their pay. The attack not only destroyed the finance office building and injured the three Soldiers inside it also cut access to cash! Hundreds of Stryker Soldiers then contacted loved ones at home asking for cash to be sent to them immediately - not knowing how long the office would be out of commission.
However, within a week a makeshift finance office was open and running in an adjacent building.
Attacks are more common than the news media leads us to believe. During any given 24 hour period in Iraq there are between 500 and 1000 attacks on coalition forces all across the country - they range from rockets and mortars to AK-47 fire. Coalition troops during the same time frame conduct between 1200 and 1500 patrols and searches.
Activity by coalition and anti-coalition forces in Northern Iraq generally takes place in the evening and night - seldom during the day. The cover of darkness provides security for the good guys and the bad guys alike. Daylight attacks are rare in this area but they do happen. This is what happened during one such daylight attack.
Soldiers when not on patrol, guard duty or other detail have some free time to write letters, use the Internet, play video games, etc. In the middle of the afternoon the FOB (Forward Operating Base) in Tal Afar was rocked by repeated explosions. Soldiers stop what they are doing and exit buildings immediately when attacks such as these occur. They either move to protective bunkers or to defensive positions. Iraqi insurgents had launched a rocket and mortar attack on the FOB. Generally the attacks are a nuisance because in their haste to set up, fire and run the Iraqi attackers don't take time to aim.
The SBCT uses radar installations to track incoming rockets and mortar rounds. Information about the trajectory of the incoming rounds is sent to computers in the artillery positions at the speed of light and return fire commences within a couple minutes. Iraqi attackers shoot and scoot quickly to keep from becoming casualties.
This attack was unlucky for the FOB though. One of the mortar rounds scored a direct hit on the base finance office. Three Stryker Soldiers working in the office were severely wounded and had to be transported to Germany to receive medical attention. Luckily no one was killed and the Soldiers injured in the attack will fully recover.
The attack and injuries are serious enough but the aftermath of the attack was even worse for a lot of the guys. The finance office is the easiest way for Stryker Soldiers to get money to use for local purchases, to use the Internet connections ($2.00 for thirty minutes) and to buy items at the makeshift base PX - they withdraw the funds from their pay. The attack not only destroyed the finance office building and injured the three Soldiers inside it also cut access to cash! Hundreds of Stryker Soldiers then contacted loved ones at home asking for cash to be sent to them immediately - not knowing how long the office would be out of commission.
However, within a week a makeshift finance office was open and running in an adjacent building.
Attacks are more common than the news media leads us to believe. During any given 24 hour period in Iraq there are between 500 and 1000 attacks on coalition forces all across the country - they range from rockets and mortars to AK-47 fire. Coalition troops during the same time frame conduct between 1200 and 1500 patrols and searches.
posted by deesci | 5:58 PM
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