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Airmen help keep Iraqi supply routes open

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Andrew Dumboski
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) --  Wearing more than 40 pounds of body armor, an NCO walks along the side of an Iraqi highway as the sun rises behind him, and keeps a sharp eye out for dangers and hazards.

Staff Sgt. Charles Lemley, along with other Airmen of the 887th Security Forces Squadron's Bravo Flight, patrols convoy routes outside of Camp Bucca, Iraq, securing the dangerous roads for resupply and troop movement.

"We perform route-clearance patrols, sweeping main supply routes for improvised explosive devices," said Sergeant Lemley, a fire-team leader for Scorpion 1-6.

The Airmen of Scorpion 1-6 are on-shift 12 to 15 hours a day, six days a week, patrolling a single stretch of highway. Spending so much time keeping an eye on their stretch of road helps them get the job done.

"When we first got here, we were calling out the explosive ordnance disposal team a lot, but we all know the area very well now. We can tell if something has been put out here recently," Sergeant Lemley said.

The Airmen will often get out of their vehicles during their patrols and spend time getting a closer look at the environment. The amount of time the teams spend on dismounted patrols varies, said Tech. Sgt. Donnie Gallagher, Scorpion 1-6 squad leader. Sometimes they'll only get out of the vehicle to check on a possible improvised explosive device, other times they may patrol for a kilometer or two on foot.

"You see a lot more when you get out and walk," Sergeant Gallagher said.

And they do see IEDs.

In late July, a member of Scorpion 1-1was injured when an IED exploded beside his Humvee. Staff Sgt. Chris Forsythe was riding in the passenger-side front seat when shrapnel from the explosion tore through his door, breaking his arm.

"There's a particular stretch that we patrol called 'IED alley,'" Sergeant Forsythe said the day after the attack. "The one that hit me was buried just before that."

Typically on their patrols, children come out and ask for water from the Airmen. The kids come out with their parents and the Airmen usually give them bottled water and some pens for school.

But on the morning Sergeant Forsythe was hit, they didn't come.

"As we rolled into the area where the kids usually are, we started to get out some water," Sergeant Forsythe said. "Then someone noticed that the kids weren't there. It wasn't even a second after they said something over the radio that we were hit."

Sergeant Forsythe was the vehicle commander for the lead vehicle on the patrol; his Humvee was totaled instantly. While he was the only one injured enough to be sent home, he wasn't the only Airmen injured in the blast. The heavy-weapons gunner for the lead vehicle was also injured when he received glass and shrapnel to his face.

"They were both very lucky," Sergeant Lemley said. "I've known Sergeant Forsythe for almost our entire Air Force careers, and I'm glad he's OK and that he'll be able to see his family sooner."

Despite the risk and their life-threatening experiences the Airmen of Scorpion 1-6 continue to carry on and accomplish their mission.

The stretch of highway Scorpion 1-6 patrols includes the cloverleaf intersection where Airman 1st Class Elizabeth Jacobson was killed in September 2005. And she wasn't the only casualty. After an Army specialist was killed there in 2006, the decision was made to keep constant security on the intersection.

"We spend a few hours during every one of our patrols maintaining security on the cloverleaf," Sergeant Gallagher said. "Between the many patrols that go on in this area, there is always someone nearby 24 hours a day and 7 days a week."

With the exception of one or two people, the Airmen of Scorpion 1-6 deployed together from the 822nd Security Forces Squadron at Moody Air Force Base, Ga., in May.

"We've all been working together for a while," said Senior Airman Robert Dowling, a heavy weapons operator with Scorpion 1-6. "I think it helps, because we know how each of us will react in a situation."

The Airmen enjoy working together and are looking forward to getting back to Moody AFB where family and friends are waiting. Most of the Airmen deployed for six months and expect to get back in November. 

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