V CORPS SOLDIERS PROTECT COALITION COMPOUND IN BAGHDAD
V Corps Release
Release Date: 6/24/2003
By Spc. Christopher Stanis 1st Armored Division Public Affairs Office
BAGHDAD, IRAQ -- There is a thin line between coalition soldiers in Baghdad's city center and those who might want to harm them, but try to cross that line, and you'll find it's more of a brick wall than a line in the sand.
It's a line formed by the soldiers of V Corps' A Company, 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment from Baumholder, Germany.
Assigned to Task Force 1-35 for this deployment, the 1st Armored Division soldiers guard the front gate of the coalition compound in the heart of the Iraqi capital.
Everybody has a mission, and this is just one of the many for A Company, said Cpl. Jonathan Gibson, a team leader with the company's 2nd Platoon.
Each platoon works 48 hours in a "12-on, 12-off" format on the gate, then moves to one of the unit's other missions, such as patrols or guarding checkpoints.
While on the main gate, the troops make sure only legitimate persons get on the compound. They search non-military vehicles and check local national employees for proper identification, which the locals obtain from their employers.
"If the employer is legitimate," Gibson said, "they'll have the proper means to get their workers passes."
To help stay focused - and safe - the guard team members constantly watch each others' backs, the corporal said.
"We keep each other alert by word of mouth - 'Hey, watch for hands.' 'Watch for this guy over here.' 'What's that guy with the bag doing over there?'" Gibson said. "There's a lot of cross-talk amongst this platoon, and it keeps us wide awake."
In addition to filtering who enters the compound, the guards must also keep the flow of traffic moving past the gate - a real challenge when a mob is protesting the U.S presence in Iraq.
They hold up signs saying, "America go home" and "No George Bush," Gibson said.
"They (feel) we are an occupying force, and we're not going to give them the chance to have their own government," the La Porte, Texas, native added.
Though Gibson said he doesn't feel threatened by the demonstrations, things can get hectic. He said his team can't let their guard down.
"That's when they like to hit," he added, "when we're all unfocused."
Gibson said a big asset at the gate has been the translators.
These guys are working out really well," he said. "They understand us and . they know we're trying to help these people"
Like many of the other soldiers in his unit, Gibson has only been able to correspond with his wife through letters, but he said if he got the chance, he wouldn't tell her what he's doing here.
"I'd tell her the basic stuff," he said. "But I don't think she'd like to hear the dangerous stuff. It would just make her worry more."
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