Bravo Company, 9th Engineers plays key role in Operation Baton Rouge
SAMARRA, Iraq- During Operation Baton Rouge in October, Bravo Company, 9th Engineer Battalion supported 2nd Brigade Combat Teams' mission to liberate the city of Samarra from Anti-Iraqi Forces (AIF). The mission was a coordinated effort to cordon and clear every block of the city.
During the initial movement, AIF forces increased emplacement of improvised Explosive devices (IEDs), engaged convoys with small arms fire and Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs) and fired mortars and rockets at cache points and Traffic Control Points (TCPs).
Bravo Company provided counter-mobility support for the outer cordon of Samarra and set the conditions for regulated travel in and out of the city. Bravo Company's mission began with the deployment of ACE Blade Teams to close off canals, denying the AIF usage of these channels to bypass the TCPs. Once the canals were blocked, A&O Platoon built berm and tank ditch obstacles at key locations along the north, west, and south of the city, to block roads leading to Samarra, preventing the AIF from launching a flanking attack or escaping the city.
1st Platoon built additional Triple-Standard Wire fences to close off smaller roads around the city. Upon completion of the obstacles, 2nd Platoon and A&O Platoon began construction of TCPs and A&O Platoon began closing off escape routes along the perimeter of the city under the concealment of night. What began as a mission to create 16 obstacles developed into more than 21 blocking berms and tank ditches.
The total engineer effort included construction of four TCPs, emplacement of 400 T-walls, 600 Jersey Barriers, 40 "Dog Box" bunkers, 100 Hesco bastian sections, 800 meters of steel cable and 2,000 cubic yards of gravel. Bravo Company's ability to work quickly in a hostile environment set the conditions for successful operations in Samarra before, during and after the assault.
Release #041116h
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
