ENGINEERS REINFORCE TRAFFIC CONTROL POINTS TO PROTECT COALITION FORCES AND FIND ILLEGAL ARMS
V Corps Release
Release Date: 9/25/2003
By Spc. Justin B. Baker 49th Public Affairs Detachment
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Combat engineers are responsible for protecting the force and shaping the battle.
To help in accomplishing both those missions, engineers of V Corps's Task Force 1st Armored Division recently provided the materials and expertise to set up four permanent traffic control points in a rural southern suburb of Baghdad.
Company B, 307th Engineer Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division, set up the TCPs in support of a recent operation to prevent the trafficking of weapons and bomb-making materials into Baghdad.
During the operation, units assigned to 1st Armored Division swept through the rural areas to the south and west of Baghdad to root out any resistance. Task Force Falcon manned traffic control points along the southern border of the city, along with Iraqi police officers who were being trained on the proper procedures for running a TCP, so they can take over on a permanent basis after the operation.
The TCPs are a major part of the mission, said 1st Lt. Sean Shields, platoon leader, Co. B, 307th Eng. Bn.
"Main TCPs are setup on Highway 8 (the primary road leading into Baghdad from the south). If the enemy tries to bypass them, then they will be stopped by our TCPs."
The task force has manned TCPs in the area for quite some time, said Company B's Pfc. Justin Sloan (see related story, below). The engineers were called upon to set up permanent TCPs that Iraqi police will man regularly after the operation. The engineers provided the sand-filled wire barriers, concertina wire and hedgehog barriers needed to construct the key features of an effective TCP, said Sloan.
The hedgehog barriers, large iron obstacles that resemble a child's toy jack, are placed in a staggered position in the approaching lane to slow vehicles before they are stopped and searched. The lanes are split by a line of large metal baskets filled with dirt, called "Hesco" barriers after their manufacturer, helping the soldiers control the flow of traffic. The engineers use the concertina wire to create holding areas for suspicious vehicles and detainees.
The engineers fully understand the importance of the mission they have securing the force in Baghdad, said engineer Pfc. Alex Miller of Co. B. A few of the engineers working on the TCPs were injured during an improvised explosive device strike while working in the area a few weeks prior.
"What we're doing today is pretty important," Miller said. "This is a really bad area; there are a lot of guns and IEDs that come through here. It will be good to screen them out."
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