1st Battalion 22nd Infantry replaces 2nd Battalion 22nd Infantry

BAGHDAD – At the end of a year long deployment, Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers finishing up the tour
are assigned a vital mission before they can begin the journey home – they are charged with passing along lessons learned to the Soldiers replacing them.

For the Soldiers of 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division,
better known as the “triple deuce,” it is a welcome task.

Teamed up with their counterparts from 1st Bn., 22nd Inf. Regt., 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division,
the “triple deuce” Soldiers rolled out June 24 to show the “new guys in town” what to expect.

BAGHDAD – Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Oberwegner, a native of Oregon, Ohio,
and platoon sergeant for Company D, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment,
1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, makes his way through a
palm grove while on a joint mission June 24 with members of 2nd Bn.,
22nd Inf. Regt., 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division.
Oberwegner and his unit are assuming operational responsibility
from 2nd Bn., which is redeploying soon.
The two units worked together to make sure the transition went as smoothly as possible.

(U.S. Army photo by Spc. Karl Johnson, 363rd MPAD)

“This gives them a good hand-over of the battle space,” said 2nd Lt. David Grammier, a Diamond Bar, Calif., native, and platoon leader
for Company D, 2nd Bn., 22nd Inf. Regt. “It shows them where the danger areas are, what previous operations we’ve conducted,
and good places to do humanitarian missions.”

These tandem missions, usually called “right-seat rides,” are important steps for an incoming unit to be successful
in its new area of operations, said Grammier.

“A ‘right-seat ride’ is when we have the leaders from the incoming unit ride with us on our patrols so they can get familiar
with the (area of operations) before they take it over with their patrols,” said Capt. James Armstrong, an El Paso, Texas, native,
and company commander for Company D, 2nd Bn., 22nd Inf. Regt.

The transition has included not only joint patrols but also meetings with key members of the Iraqi community as well as countless briefings
on what to expect from the area. Even though they have never worked in this district of Baghdad, the newly arrived 1st Bn., 22nd Inf. Regt.,
has more than six months experience working in the southern-most parts of the city.

“They’ve already been in theater fighting the fight for a while now, so we are really just getting them familiar with the new AO,”
said Armstrong. “They’re already trained in how to operate in Iraq.”

BAGHDAD – Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Oberwegner, an Oregon, Ohio, native,
and platoon sergeant for Company D, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment,
1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, gets some last minute pointers June 24
from a fellow Soldier in the 2nd Bn., 22nd Inf. Regt., 1st Brigade Combat Team,
10th Mountain Division, before a meeting with a western Baghdad sheik.
The 2nd Bn. is redeploying after a one-year tour in Iraq
and will hand over its area of responsibility to 1st Bn.

(U.S. Army photo by Spc. Karl Johnson, 363rd MPAD)

That experience and training was immediately evident to “triple deuce” Soldiers who said they looked forward
to working with a sister unit from the same regiment.

“These guys have already been in theater for a while,” said Armstrong. “It hasn’t taken them long to catch on.”

“It’s a different pace than the last location we were working in,” noted Sgt 1st Class Tiem Ambroce,
who hails from Washington and serves as a platoon sergeant with Co. A, 1st Bn., 22nd Inf. Regt.

“These (joint) patrols are important so that we can get a feel for who we are working with when something happens in the area,” added Ambroce.

However, the transition period was not without its challenges, foremost among them the difference in structure of the two units.

“It’s a little bit challenging because they’re an armored unit and we’re an infantry unit,” said Grammier. “But I think we worked it out alright.”

For both units, the transition has been a unique experience since both are members of the 22nd Inf. Regt.
but have not served under the same command in combat since Vietnam.

According to unit leadership, the joint effort has been positive for the Soldiers of both units.
The incoming 1st Bn. has had the opportunity to “borrow a years worth of experience before they even get started,” said Armstrong,
and ‘triple deuce’ Soldiers leave with the knowledge that the work they have done to secure Iraq “will be continued in good hands.”

“These guys are a great and professional unit,” said Grammier. “They’re ready to take it and run with it.”

BAGHDAD – Soldiers from 1st and 2nd Battalions, 22nd Infantry Regiment,
patrol the outskirts of western Baghdad June 24.
The 1st Bn, 22nd Inf. Rgt., 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division,
is scheduled to take over for 2nd Bn., 22nd Inf. Regt., 1st Brigade Combat Team,
10th Mountain Division, which is redeploying to the United States
after a one-year tour in Iraq. The patrol June 24 marked the first time
the two sister infantry regiment units had worked together
in a combat zone since Vietnam.

(U.S. Army photo by Spc. Karl Johnson, 363rd MPAD)

HQ-MND Baghdad