Published: March 06, 2009
56th SBCT, IA Search Kem Village
By Sgt. Doug Roles
Cordon and search mission canvasses village of Kem, builds relationships
KEM, Iraq - Soldiers of Company A, 1st Battalion, 111th Infantry, 56th Stryker BCT, 28ID, and the brigade's 856th Engineer Company search an area near Kem village March 3 after sweeping the ground with metal detectors.
Photo: Sgt. Doug Roles, 56SBCT, 28ID, MND-B |
KEM, Iraq - Soldiers from two 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team units participated in a joint cordon and search mission lead by Iraqi Army soldiers March 3 in Kem village, north of Camp Taji.
Soldiers from the 856th Engineer Company and the 1st Battalion, 111th Infantry Regiment, used the mission as an opportunity to meet locals and get a feel for service and infrastructure needs. No weapons caches were found.
"It's about establishing relationships," said 1st Lt. Patrick Smith, of Reading, Pa., commander of Company A, 1st Battalion, 111th Infantry, 56th SBCT, 28th Infantry Division.
"The significance of it was the planning and execution of the mission by the Iraqi Army. That was the success," Smith said. "It was their idea and we coordinated concurrent planning."
Smith said roughly 70 percent of the population of Kem is internally displaced persons. He said the transient population creates "a seam" that insurgents try to exploit by operating in an area where they can go unnoticed.
KEM, Iraq - Sgt. Norman Thomas of Philadelphia, a Soldier with the 1st Battalion, 111th Infantry Regiment, 56th Stryker BCT, 28ID, bids farewell to an Iraqi family after a cordon and search in Kem village March 3.
Photo: Sgt. Doug Roles, 56SBCT, 28ID, MND-B |
Soldiers went house to house looking for explosives and meeting Kem residents to talk about their concerns.
Spc. Anthony Pompliano, a combat engineer from the 856th Eng. Co. who hails from Carry, N.C., operated a metal detector during the mission and also utilized an explosives-sniffing military dog and other detection apparatuses.
"I think it definitely sent a message. If something happens we'll be there asking questions," Pompliano said of the search.
"The engineering purpose and task was to assist the Iraqi Army and the 1-111th in a cordon and search," said Staff Sgt. Mickey Stormer, also a combat engineer with the 856th Engineers, who hails from Brookville, Pa.
KEM, Iraq - Iraqi Army Soldiers work with Soldiers of the 856th Engineer Company and 1st Battalion, 111th Infantry Regiment (both are units of the 56th Stryker BCT, 28ID) to conduct a cordon and search operation in Kem village March 3.
Photo: Sgt. Doug Roles, 56SBCT, 28ID, MND-B |
"It went slower than I thought it was going to. It was a big area to cover with one company but we adapted to it," he said.
Stormer, who as a civilian works as a police officer for the Borough of Brookville, said his soldiers are doing a good job and that the deployment so far has been what he's expected. Stormer said he has worked with Iraqi Army personnel previously.
"I'm very impressed with them. I get along with them. They have a good attitude and a good sense of humor," he said.
Pompliano, a combat engineer who attends Bucknell University, Union County, Pa., agreed with Stormer about the Iraqi Army soldiers who led the day's mission.
"They're very enthusiastic. They have the right mindset," he said.
The 56th SBCT will be deployed to Iraq through the late summer. The brigade is headquartered out of Philadelphia.
KEM, Iraq - An Iraqi Army Soldier leads a movement into the courtyard of a Kem village home during a cordon and search operation conducted March 3 with soldiers from the 856th Engineer Company and Company A, 1st Battalion, 111th Infantry, 56th Stryker BCT, 28ID.
Photo: Sgt. Doug Roles, 56SBCT, 28ID, MND-B |
KEM, Iraq - Reading, Pa. resident 1st Lt. Patrick Smith (left), commander, Company A, 1st Battalion, 111th Infantry Regiment, 56th Stryker BCT, 28ID, leads a patrol through a portion of Kem village, north of Taji, March 3 as Iraqi schoolboys greet his Soldiers. Troops with the 1st Bn., 111th Inf. Regt. and the 856th Engineer Company conducted a joint cordon and search operation with Iraqi Army soldiers.
Photo: Sgt. Doug Roles, 56SBCT, 28ID, MND-B
KEM, Iraq - Sgt. Brian Reger (right) of Christiana, Pa. pulls security while Spc. Anthony Pompliano of Carry, N.C. prepares a metal detector for use near the village of Kem March 3. Both soldiers are with the 856th Engineer Company, 56th Stryker BCT, 28ID.
Photo: Sgt. Doug Roles, 56SBCT, 28ID, MND-B |
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