2nd Squadron
"Cougars"
On order, 2d Squadron, 2d ACR rapidly deploys and conducts reconnaissance and security operations anywhere in the world; prepared to fight upon arrival and Win.
The Cougar Squadron is a diverse and varied organization. Comprised of three Ground Cavalry Troops, one Anti-Tank Company, one Howitzer Battery, a Headquarters & Headquarters Troop, and the 84th Combat Engineer Company, its soldiers run the gamut from scout to cannoneer to mechanic to sapper. As missions dictate, we are augmented with aviators, chemical specialists, and tanks. They are different, but essential, pieces to the Cougar Squadron. Without any one of their specialties, the Squadron would fail in the mission -- with all of them operating together smoothly, the Squadron is equipped to accomplish any task set before them.
Similarly, the United States Army relies upon personnel from a wide variety of backgrounds to fully meet the needs of any mission it may face. Included in this variety are the citizen-soldiers who make up our US Army Reserves and National Guard units. With their varying and diverse civilian employments and backgrounds, along with their military training, these soldiers bring an invaluable depth of experience and knowledge to the fight. They train one weekend a month and two weeks each year to sustain their war fighting skills, and understand that at any point they may be called to active duty to serve their nation abroad or at home.
The Cougar Squadron is fortunate to have been augmented with several of these specialized teams throughout OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM. They quickly and easily assimilated themselves into the Cougar family, and have been key players in the Squadron's continuing successes through a variety of missions in a noncontiguous battlefield.
Team Animal spearheaded the Civil Affairs efforts of the Squadron. In the civilian world, the members of Animal work in various law enforcement roles in the New England area. In Baghdad, however, they assess areas of specific humanitarian need and then work closely with governmental and non-governmental organizations to bring in the necessary assistance. Constantly outside the wire, these civil affairs specialists have been responsible for many high-visibility projects in the Squadron's zone, and countless smaller works. From the soccer complex between Camp Marlboro and Sadr City to the new Municipal Buildings for Neighborhood/District Advisory Councils, the results of Team Animal's tireless efforts and dedication are visible everywhere.
From Washington State, the Squadron's PSYOPS teams have become the voice of the Squadron in Sadr City and the conduit of Coalition policies to the Iraqi people. These two three-man teams are essential assets as the Squadron fights to win the Information Operations campaign. Responsible for loudspeaker broadcasts, the distribution of printed material, and direct interaction with local citizens, they are also able to gather critical information about the moods and perceptions of the Iraqi people. It is a tremendous responsibility that they have carried well, and their efforts have paid enormous dividends.
America relies heavily on its citizen-soldiers to round out its military, and our Squadron relies just as heavily on our own citizen-soldiers to complete our missions. Back home they are police officers, college students, and truck drivers. Here, they are Cougars.
In light of events at the Imam Ali mosque in An Najaf, 2d Squadron, 2d Armored Cavalry Regiment decided in October 2003 to conduct joint coalition-IPF checkpoints along major roads around Sadr City in order to protect the citizens of Sadr City, especially during the hours leading up to prayer time. These checkpoints have been highly successful in providing deterrence to any terrorist or former regime loyalists who wish to threaten the citizens of Sadr City. Each checkpoint is collaboration between the coalition forces and our friends, the Iraqi police. The Iraqi police force conduct the inspections of incoming vehicles while the coalition forces provide the security for the checkpoint, and interface with the local citizens. The participation by uniformed, armed Iraqi police force officers is a clear indication of the level of cooperation between the coalition and the Iraqi people. The checkpoints are received with many thanks from the citizens immediately surrounding the area, as well as those that pass through the checkpoint. The children are always interested in the large tanks and in talking to the soldiers and IPF at the checkpoints.
In November 2003 the Squadron was busy with Operation Iron Hammer, n conducting significant raids and other offensive operations against the former regime over two weeks. Some of these operations have been successful with us capturing arms and munitions, although some have turned up nothing. Every move made helps in eliminating the threat here. The Squadron continued to secure the District Advisory Council building in the center of town as well as conduct our security patrols. The troops have reacted to numerous improvised explosive devices and with their training have managed to ensure they get either Iraqi EOD or Army EOD on site to defuse the devices. All the TCB's are working with Iraqi Civil Defense Corps soldiers that we trained. Theey work great for crowd control and in helping during operations which must deal with the Iraqi population for a significant period of time. The weather is cooling down, but generally it has been pleasant during the day. They were serving lunch at Camp Marlboro. This has been a great change for everyone and a big plus. They were also working on improving the armor on our Humvee's, and continued to implement this upgrade.
The soldiers of 2nd Squadron, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Camp Marlboro never passed up a chance to make life just a little bit easier for some of the less fortunate Iraqi children. These soldiers visited Al-Rhama's House for Orphans were they have made lots of little friends. The orphanage is a privately run organization, which takes care of approximately 53 girls and boys ranging from the ages of 5-19 years old. The supplies given to the children at the orphanage ranged from school supplies to new shoes and toys. The soldiers delivering the packages to the children were by no means strangers at the orphanage. Almost a month earlier on Christmas Day, Chaplain Stuart coordinated a toy drop at the orphanage where most of the kids were surprised to meet the soldiers. This time around the kids were "extremely excited to see us again"
