1st Battalion 22nd Infantry
1st Battalion 22nd Infantry
Operation Iraqi Freedom
The following is a report on
the activities of 1-22 Infantry,
written on July 3, 2003, by the Battalion Commander,
LTC Steven D. Russell
LTC Steven D. Russell
Subject: LTC Russell 3 July TF 1-22 IN Update, Tikrit Iraq
3 July 03 (Happy birthday Dad)
Dear Family and Friends,
Wanted to drop another note to let you all know how things are
going with the ‘Regulars’ of TF 1-22 Infantry.
The pace of operations since my last update on 20 June has been
brisk. Our A Company along with a platoon from C Company
flew by CH-47 in support of operations along the Syrian
border. You may remember hearing some about this in the
news a couple of weeks ago.
Our task force was given about 45 minutes notice from alert to
lift off. The men operated out of rucksacks for about 5
days and performed superbly. The heat there was oppressive
like the rest of the country, but there was a little greener
vegetation and the temperatures were actually quite cool to the
men at night.
When our battalion reassembled, we operated in farmland vicinity
of the Tigris River.
A reporter, William Booth from the Washington Post, spent
about 3 days with our task force and wrote a nice piece (26 June)
on our operations. He said he came to see how a unit that
had given and taken casualties was reacting and was impressed
that we were maintaining the initiative with good spirits and
good results. One operation he observed produced little but
he was impressed by one of our Bradley Fighting Vehicles doing a
forced entry into a farm courtyard. The BFV smashed through
the gate, removing wrought iron, concrete and mortar in a cloud
of dust and was quickly followed by our Infantry shuffling down
the ramp of the vehicle to secure the area. I must admit it
was a wonderful thing and something we never get to do in
training.
The health of the men has remained good but the ‘Fedayeen
Funk’ personally struck me one morning. Dizziness, vomiting
and diarrhea combined to overwhelm me for about a 24 hour
period. Fortunately, the battalion has an ample roster of
talent and they allowed me the rest I needed. Our men see
bouts of this type on occasion and the soldiers have coined
several entertaining terms to describe the maladies:
‘Saddam’s revenge,’ ‘The two-cheek
sneak,’ and as already mentioned, the ‘Fedayeen
Funk.’ Fortunately, our medics and docs attack these
with medications that ‘shock and awe’ the viruses into
submission within a day.
We had the privilege to brief Ambassador Bremer and Secretary
Brownlee recently and they were very complimentary of our
soldiers and the success of our operations. We maintain the
initiative and refuse to hunker down. Some BBC reporters
interviewed me recently with a story already written and they
needed the sound bites to support it. But we could not
agree with their estimation that operations had somehow turned
for the worse for us in Tikrit. I explained to them that
the acts of violence we had seen represented the actions of a
desperate and losing foe. Our cooperation with the locals
continues to improve and the Iraqi government and police
officials have joined our forces in their own future. I
cannot speak for all of Iraq, but we have the upper hand in
Tikrit and make it a heavy hand only for those that do not
comply.
The command sergeant major and I went to Mosul to visit part of
our A Company troops attached to the 101st Airborne there.
The town is on the site of the ancient city of Nineveh. Its
hills, taller trees and greenery were a pleasant contrast to our
area of operations. The men there are doing well and are
making the best of the situation there. They are not as
heavily engaged there and generally are performing duties
guarding the airfield.
Our C Company will change commanders soon as CPT Randy Taylor
departs to be a comptroller and CPT Brad Boyd takes over the
fighting soldiers of ‘Cold Steel.’ We also sent
home our first group of soldiers released by the Army’s
removal of ‘stop loss’ and ‘stop move’
policies. Our strength remains robust and I was very happy
to send these men home after their great service to our
nation. They can be very proud of their accomplishments.
We continue the fight as if we are here until the job is done and
I am convinced we will get the big boys eventually. We have
already gotten #4 and continue to erode the support base of
people harboring them. The fact that they remain on the run
and uncoordinated gives me great satisfaction. We see the
concern in the American press and the angst from the people at
home but what we truly need is for the nation to continue to
stand behind us. Every reason that brought us here is still
as valid as it was in March. If not us, then who? Who will
step up for these 26 million people? Our resolve remains
clear.
We are thankful for the mail, the care packages, the magazines
and newspapers and most of all the prayers that continue to
sustain us. Our cause is certain because the contrast in
what is right and just between our enemy and us is so
obvious. Just as Jehoshophat emboldened the people in their
struggle with the Edomites, we can take heart in his advice,
“The battle depends on God and not you…Just take up
your positions and wait and you will see the Lord give you
victory….Put your trust in the Lord your God and you will
stand your ground.” (2 Chronicles 20). United we
stand. God bless the USA and our great soldiers. SDR
LTC Steve Russell
Commander
TF 1-22 Infantry
Tikrit, Iraq