Thunder Rumblings
Commander's Update, July 12, 2004
Tim Ryan, LTC, Commanding Officer
2/12th Cavalry
Howdy,
This morning, I am writing this month’s installment of Thunder Rumblings from the Space A (available) Passenger Terminal at the Baghdad International Airport as I wait for a seat on any flight headed to Kuwait. From there, I’ll make arrangements for a flight back to Ft. Hood. How could this be? How could I leave the battalion in a combat zone and head back to the States? you ask. Well, if you’d have told me two days ago that I was going to be here this morning, I’d have told you there was no way!
My trip comes as the result of a short notice tasking for two representatives from brigade to return to Ft Hood and participate in our replacement unit’s Mission Rehearsal Exercise from 14-19 July. As some of you may know, the 256th Brigade, Louisiana Army National Guard is scheduled to replace our brigade in the beginning of November. My task is to share the lessons learned and tactics we’ve developed over here with the 256th Brigade during their weeklong exercise at Ft Hood. Your soldiers have adapted to this most difficult sector so well that Colonel Formica wanted me to carry their hard lessons learned back to the force. That the chain of command felt confident enough for me to leave is a true testament to subordinate leadership and discipline of your troopers down in the line. He knows that the battalion has such great soldiers and leaders that they will be able to handle anything that comes up. While I’m back at Ft Hood, I plan to meet with all of the Family Readiness Groups to answer questions and address any issues you may have. Major Scott Kendrick, the XO and CSM Booker will have the helm in Iraq while I’m stateside.
In my last newsletter, I mentioned how the relative quiet had allowed us to slow down for a brief respite. Well, as predicted the period leading into the end of June with the Iraqi Transfer of Sovereignty proved to be quite busy. Through some of the most intensive offensive operations that the brigade at large has done in some time, we were able to prevent the enemy from executing any of the spectacular attacks we were anticipating around the end of June. However, in spite of all of efforts to work through the local civic and tribal leaders to stop the attacks completely, there were about two or three dozen bad guys still around who didn’t buy into the program. These hard-core fighters increased their activity about three weeks ago and have been active ever since. These guys will not change no matter what good things we do and we’ll have to eliminate them from the equation one way or the other.
It sounds like cleaning up a few dozen bad-guys would be easy doesn’t it? Our challenge is that the good guys and the bad guys all look alike, so picking thirty criminals out of eighty thousand innocents is problematic. We have to use caution not to make more enemies in the process of prosecuting our attackers. The ease with which our soldier’s transition from a high-intensity fire fight to providing medical care for those wounded to negotiating a scope of work with a local contractor for rebuilding is absolutely astounding! Slowly but surely, we are cleaning up the neighborhoods and people are getting back to work.
Our work schedule has been so busy lately that we didn’t even slow down for a Fourth of July barbeque. We did take time out of the day for a battalion awards ceremony and remember those who have gone before us to pave the way for the independence and freedom we enjoy today. As part of the ceremony, we dedicated our headquarters building to PFC Chris Hudson, the first U.S. soldier in Task Force 2-12 to pay the ultimate price for not only our future but also the future of the people of Iraq. The building is now known as Hudson Hall in his memory.
For those of you reading this closely, you probably noticed that I said the 256th Brigade was scheduled to replace us in mid-November. This is true. What remains uncertain is when we’ll come home after that. We could return as early as mid-December or as we originally planned in the end of January or beginning of February. These return dates are subject to change many times for many reasons before we hit the ground back there again. Be patient!
Finally, in my last note, I mentioned that we could get most anything we need through the PX, but if someone wanted to send some things over here some new or used sandals or flip flops would be a great thing to hand out as we patrol out into some of the poorer areas. While we haven’t taken delivery of the first package yet, it sounds like the idea has really caught on. I hear that several churches and other groups from Texas to Georgia are taking interest in “Operation Flip Flop”. It sounds great!
I have to close for now; the battery on my laptop is dying quickly. As always, I can’t begin to tell you how proud I am of all of the troopers of Task Force 2-12. Their day-to-day acts of courage and compassion are a true testament to professionalism of the American fighting forces. I am equally as thankful for the support that all of you back home give us in support. It is this support that carries us through the dust, heat and homesickness that we all endure. Thank you for all you do and keep those cards and cookies coming!
Always Ready! Thunderhorse!
LTC Tim Ryan
Thunder 6