1st Battalion 22nd Infantry News April 2006

1st Battalion 22nd Infantry

News Reports

April 2006

1st Bn., 22nd Inf. Regt. Soldiers continue to make a difference

Story by 1st Lt. Dahbry Streets

2nd BCT, 101st Abn. Div.

April 6, 2006

BAGHDAD – “Deeds, not words,” is the motto of the Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team,
4th Infantry Division. Task Force members know to hold these words near and dear to their hearts and trust in the motto.
Soldiers of 1st Bn., 22nd Inf., embody this motto through selfless actions every day.

While on patrol in the Al Rashid District of southern Baghdad in early March, 3rd Platoon, Company D, assisted a group of local Iraqi citizens
in repairing a water main that ruptured, severely flooding the neighborhood. Traveling along the flooded street, the platoon’s Soldiers saw local civilians digging.
They immediately secured their “pioneer” kits, a variety of excavation tools, and proceeded to help restore water to the neighborhood.

While on patrol just south of the Al Rashid District recently, Soldiers from the Scout platoon, 1- 22nd Inf., “saw two gentlemen standing next to a van
that slid off of the road,” said 1st Lt. Brian Johnson, platoon leader. “The platoon felt obliged to help the stranded Iraqis in need of assistance.”

After finally conveying a message of peace and assistance to the men, the Soldiers used their towing assets to recover the van.
“Ultimately, doing something small, even helping pull a person’s car out of the mud, shows the people of this country the good nature of American troops,”
said 2nd Lt. James Stephen.

In yet another act of kindness, the Soldiers of Company D found other Iraqi citizens in need of a helping hand. During a routine patrol in Hawr Rejab,
the headquarters element of Company D came across an Iraqi cargo truck that fell into a crater caused by a roadside bomb.
After seeing that traffic could not pass, the element formulated a plan to help recover the truck.

As the residents of Hawr Rejab looked on, Staff Sgt. Anthony Venetz and Sgt. Stephen Holderby carefully located tow hooks on the cargo truck
and hooked the tow strap to one of the Bradley Fighting Vehicles. After the first attempt of pulling the massive truck out failed,
the two Soldiers devised another plan. By attaching another tow cable directly to the axle, the Soldiers skillfully began pulling the huge truck
out of the crater with the Bradley. Slowly, the truck was pulled out of the crater.

“This selfless action performed by Soldiers from Co. D, 1st Bn., 22nd Inf., not only assisted the local national in his delivery of cargo,
but also displayed to the people of Hawr Rajeb the concern Coalition Forces have for citizens of Iraq,” said Capt. Jared Rudacille, 1st Bn., 22nd Inf.
The people of Hawr Rejab saw first-hand the versatility of Co. D Soldiers –
one minute conducting a combat patrol and the next minute assisting a trucker in need.

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MND-B Soldiers find multiple weapons caches

At approximately 1:15 a.m. April 6, Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st BCT, 4th Inf. Div., found a weapons cache using a metal detector.
The cache contained 23 Sabo penetrators, three boxes of .50-caliber ammunition and two high-explosive artillery primers.

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STB, 4ID conducts mass casualty exercise

Staff Sgt. Kevin Lovel

363rd MPAD

April 6, 2006

CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq – Soldiers from Multi-National Division – Baghdad ’s Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Division,
participated in a Mass Casualty Exercise April 1; the exercise was designed to ensure Soldiers are prepared for any contingency while deployed to Iraq.

The Soldiers trained on responding to a variety of emergency scenarios they could potentially encounter in the event of a terrorist attack
or other major catastrophe occurring at or near the 4th Inf. Div. headquarters building.

Soldiers treated simulated wounds, conducted litter carries, loaded litters into vehicles and evacuated casualties to a designated Casualty Collection Point.

The STB Soldiers conduct a mass casualty exercise refresher once a month while deployed to Iraq to hone their knowledge
and techniques and refresh perishable medical first aid and evacuation skills.

“We’re the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, so if Division Main was hit, we’d man it for them.
It’s our contingency plan,” said Capt. Jennifer L. Phillips, commander, HHC, 4th Inf. Div.

“It trains everybody up so they know how to react to a situation. I saw a lot of teamwork here,” said Sgt. Chase Cradeur, medic,
1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Inf. Div. “Everybody was designated to do a certain job,
and they were capable of doing their job and completing their mission,” Cradeur concluded.

“I think they get a lot out of the training. It puts them through the crawl, walk, run phases,” said Phillips.

Participants were also impressed with the level of expertise of the STB Soldiers. “I felt like I was being reassured.
I didn’t feel like I was not going to be taken care of,” said Pvt. Weston G. Jarrell, combat engineer, who assisted in the exercise
as a simulated casualty victim suffering from a shrapnel wound to the face. “They were very quick to bandage my wound,” he added.

In the event of a true mass casualty, the STB Soldiers would be responsible for manning three CCPs and operating a battalion aid station.

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Iraqi Army Soldiers discover multiple weapon caches

Baghdad, Iraq, April 13, 2006 – Four weapons caches were uncovered during the continuation of a combined operation
between Iraqi Army and Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers in southern Baghdad April 10.

In the early morning hours, Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, and Company D, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment,
conducted a search in the Tigris River valley to locate suspected weapons caches.

During the first phase of the operation, Iraqi Army Soldiers found pre-made roadside-bombs, encased in concrete, ready to be transported
and used against Coalition Forces, said Capt. Jared Rudacille, commander, Company D, 1st Bn., 22nd Inf. Regt.
During the second phase of the operation, the Iraqi Army and MND-B units air assaulted into the area
to find additional caches not found during the first phase, he added.

In total, the four weapons caches consisted of seven RPG rounds, three machine guns, 28 70 mm mortar rounds, 38 60mm mortar rounds,
landmines, a large bag of homemade explosives, a sniper rifle, grenades, 13 pre-made roadside-bombs, ten rockets, 403 linked rounds of small arms ammunition,
three bags of linked ammunition and 5,000 rounds of sniper-rifle rounds.

Once the caches were under control of an EOD team, the Soldiers moved on to destroy five boats used to transport weapons across the Tigris River.

“This area is a staging area for attacks both across the Tigris and into our area of operations as well,” said 2nd Lt. James Stephan,
assistant security officer for 1st Bn., 22nd Inf. Regt. “The weapons and material found here confirm our suspicions that the enemy is concentrated heavily
along the palm groves and river banks in the area.”

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101st Abn. Div. medics share knowledge Baghdad, Iraq, April 16, 2006

– The 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division surgeon section conducted Tactical Combat Casualty Care and Eagle First Responder training April 5-6 at Camp Striker in southern Baghdad.

The course was designed to train the medics of 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division,
on the latest medical standards to further improve their success rates in treating Soldiers.

Three medics, Sgt. Fritz Alokoa, Sgt. Antoine Jordan and Sgt. Carl Lawrence, all with 1st Bn., 22nd Inf. Regt., came to Camp Striker
for a two-day orientation of TC3 (Tactical Combat Casualty Care) and EFR (Eagle First Responders) techniques
under the tutelage of Sgt. 1st Class Joel Thomas, surgeon noncommissioned officer-in-charge, 2nd BCT, 101st Abn. Div.

“We are here to change the mindset and the operational thinking of medics based on the TC3 principals,” said Thomas.
“The end result is better medics and improved combat care.” The Rascon School for Combat Medicine at Fort Campbell , Ky ., developed the TC3 program.
The school’s primary objective is teaching combat medics new medical tactics, techniques and procedures learned from the Vietnam War
through Operation Iraqi Freedom III. The TC3 course is designed to increase the combat medics’ success rates as well as their efficiency.

The Eagle First Responder course is an improved version of the Combat Lifesaver Course and based on the TC3 guidelines.
Thomas and Staff Sgt. Cory Heimark spent two days providing an orientation of TC3 and EFR to the medics.
The program focused on the use of the new combat action tourniquet, needle decompression and the emergency bandage,
which provides first responders improved techniques in providing treatment to an injured Soldier. Once trained, the medics will return to their units
and train other medics on how to use the new skills and concepts they learned and start an EFR program in their units.
“This training is exactly what we needed,” said Lawrence , at the conclusion of the second day of training.
“Some of these skills are currently taught to Soldiers in basic training,” added Thomas,
“but we must bring these improved first-aid standards to all Soldiers.”

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Terrorists' improvised-explosive device kills 2 Iraqis, wounds 7 children

Baghdad, Iraq, April 23, 2006 – Terrorists detonated an improvised-explosive device April 23 that killed an Iraqi adult and a child,
and also wounded seven other children in a small community of Al Mahmudiyah, located south of Baghdad .
Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division , arrived at the scene
and immediately called for a medical evacuation unit to transport the victims to a nearby U.S. hospital.
A witness to the incident told authorities the IED struck an Iraqi vehicle, reportedly killing the driver instantly and a child playing nearby.
The seven other children were also injured in the blast. The witness also reported he saw a terrorist fleeing the area shortly after the blast occurred.

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April 28, 2006

While conducting a combined cordon-and-search mission in a remote village southeast of Baghdad April 25,
soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, and U.S. forces from 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment,
1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, found a weapons cache. The cache consisted of IEDs encased in concrete,
anti-tank mines, anti-personnel mines, .50-caliber machine guns, 55 mm mortar rounds, and homemade 60 mm mortar tubes.
Iraqi army and Multinational Division Baghdad Soldiers destroyed the munitions...

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