Commander's Update, July 5, 2007
2/12th Cavalry
James Nickolas, LTC, Commanding Officer
Family and Friends of the THUNDER HORSE Battalion,
On Wednesday, 4 July 2007, our Nation celebrated our 231st year of Independence.
Soldiers and their families know the true costs borne throughout our Nation’s history. The separations, the missed births, the passing of another anniversary alone, plus the pain and anguish family and friends must endure at the loss of a loved one. Such is the cost each and every Soldier and their families must bear.
The CSM and I can’t thank you enough for bearing this burden for our Nation. With God’s help, perhaps, your Soldiers will return to Fort Bliss and the need for further separations and sorrows will be curtailed.
In the past thirty days three more exceptional THUNDER HORSE Soldiers lost their lives in defense of our freedom. On 21 June, 2007, while on patrol in Shula, SPC Raymond Spencer’s vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device. On 1 July, 2007, PFC Jonathan Rossi was struck with small arms fire. And on the night of 5 July, SPC Jeremy Stacey’s vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to each family and we pray the Lord comforts you in your loss.
The focus of our operations this month has been the establishment of a volunteer neighborhood watch program we’re calling the Ghaziliyah Guardians. Similar to the programs successfully established in Anbar Province, our goal is to recruit local men to help secure their neighborhoods, while providing them with an employment opportunity. Charlie Company has the lead with this new program, but Bravo and Delta Companies will also begin similar recruiting efforts.
A second focus this month is economic revival. Bravo Company’s new Joint Security Station sits in a commanding location astride the major market area in southern Ghaziliyah. Abandoned, dirty and damaged prior to our arrival in Baghdad, we’ve taken efforts to clean and safeguard the market area as an incentive for local merchants to return. In the past few weeks, Bravo Company has hosted several shop owner meetings. Each meeting brings more merchants to our attention, helps identify needs and wants, and moves us toward re-establishing a viable market area. To date, three stores have re-opened, with as many as nineteen additional vendors planning to return to the market.
In June, the battalion also began OPERATION THUNDER REST. We pull one platoon off the line for a four day stand-down period, rotating throughout the companies. While the initial focus is on companies who reside at the Joint Security Stations, The also , the Iraqi Army sent additional units to Baghdad. As I’ve reported in previous newsletters, we received two additional IA Battalions in our area of operations. These battalions arrive in Baghdad for a 90 day rotation and then re-deploy back to their original areas of operation. During the month of May, our battalion saw the departure of the 2/3/4 IA and 3/4/10 IA and the arrival of the 2/4/2 IA and the 1/4/10 IA.
This rotation policy keeps all of us on our toes. As units spend more time together in CASINO, THRASHER, or MAVERICK, they get to work with, train and mentor our Iraqi brothers in arms.
As we pay tribute to our Nation’s and our battalion’s fallen warriors, the CSM and I thank each and every THUNDER HORSE Soldier for your steadfast dedication to duty and exceptional performance. And to all of the family of our Soldiers whose love and support sustain us more than you know. No other battalion in this theater has experienced the same challenges we’ve faced, and successfully overcome, in the last eighteen months.
The CSM and I are both extremely proud of you, humbled by your accomplishments and extremely honored to serve with you. May God bless our Soldiers, their families and the families of our fallen heroes; and may He continue to shelter all of us in His protective embrace.
Always Ready.