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'Operation Etoile' Holds Special Meaning for 'Warhorse' Battalion

By Capt. Gregory Stopyra  

When 3-8 Combined Arms Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, was planning future missions to support the local Iraqis in their area of operation, one mission got special attention from the Soldiers of the "Warhorse" battalion, and received a special name.

The mission was to clear and level an area of ground often used by insurgents as a hiding area while they emplaced improvised explosive devices on a heavily traveled road a couple hundred meters west of Baqubah, in the Diyala province. These attacks would often put local nationals, Iraqi security and coalition forces at risk, and the Soldiers from the 3-8 CAB felt something had to be done to prevent these insurgent attacks.

With the help of the 92nd Engineers, from Company E, 3-8 CAB, Warhorse devised a plan to clear the ground in the area. The mission would involve leveling two large dirt mounds used to stage attacks, demolish an old tower used as a lookout, and clear back trees and brush often used for hiding. The engineers, also known as "Rough Riders," would then convert the resulting leveled ground into a soccer field for the children in the surrounding villages.

With the plan and operations underway, the only thing left was giving the mission a proper name.

In selecting a name for the mission, the leadership of Warhorse drew from an event that happened nine months earlier.

The Battalion had just completed their deployment preparation training at the Joint Readiness Training Center in Fort Polk, La. They loaded busses and began the long 11-hour journey home to Fort Hood, Texas. One bus, however, had its journey cut short due to maintenance issues. It just so happened that the bus broke down in the small Texas town of Etoile.

The town, with an official population of 70, quickly sprang to life to help the stranded Soldiers. The town converted a section of the local school into a make-shift lounge for the Soldiers, while many of the other troops took the opportunity to play games with the children on their break from school. At a moments notice, the community voluntarily whipped up a magnificent spaghetti feast for the hungry Soldiers. This was their way of saying "thank you" and giving a little something back to the heroes who defend and serve their country.

The community's help was not forgotten.

The Warhorse leadership decided upon the name of Etoile for this operation. This French word for "star" now represents a tremendous success for the Warhorse Battalion.

The Rough Rider engineers used nine bulldozers to clear the ground and constructed a soccer field. Other Soldiers from the company met with families and children from a small village located just south of the construction project to hand out blankets, clothes, and toys.

Etoile, a name that represents a small town in Texas whose people reached out to help the Warhorse troops, is now shared with an operation that helped many small villages in Iraq.

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