Camp Anaconda recovery team always on call

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[WENDELLKDUNCAN]

Camp Anaconda recovery team always on call
Emergency missions can begin at any hour, day or night

By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Sunday, Wednesday, April 5, 2006


CAMP ANACONDA, Iraq — It’s about 4:30 a.m. when the call comes in.

A truck carrying equipment to Camp Anaconda has broken down outside the wire, near the town of Balad. Within minutes, weary soldiers with a recovery team are piling into two Humvees and two Armored Security Vehicles, ready to head out.

Staff Sgt. Ray Coleman, 40, the convoy commander, said his team gets between four and five such calls per week, but sometimes they can respond to as many as three per day.

Coleman, of Battery B, 5th Battalion, 113th Field Artillery Regiment, said his team had the day off, but they are always on call for cases like this one.

At 5:15 a.m., the convoy is under way.

“It’s too early for this,” said Spc. Jared Fox, 31, after someone announces the time.

As the convoy leaves the camp, a more serious call comes over the radio: “Lock and load now.”

Coleman, of Greensboro, N.C., explains that the convoy has to “bob and weave a lot” to avoid potholes and other possible sites for roadside bombs.

Coleman and other soldiers call out when they see debris by the roadway so that Fox can swerve to avoid them.

Fox mentions that, when he gets back home, he will probably swerve the first time a plastic bag blows across the roadway.

After about 45 minutes, the convoy reaches the stricken truck, a flatbed carrying construction equipment. Asked what is wrong with his truck, the driver simply says, “Motor.”

Within a few minutes, the truck has been hooked up to a tow truck and the convoy begins to head home as it starts getting light.

But the daylight reveals new threats.

On the way back to base, the convoy sees some pickup trucks stopped ahead of them.

After the convoy crosses into oncoming traffic, Humvee gunner Spc. Aaron Crudup, 21, reports that it appears the people from the pickup trucks are digging a hole to plant a roadside bomb.

Coleman reports the suspicious vehicles to the quick reaction force and the convoy keeps rolling.

Shortly afterward, Crudup, also of Greensboro, reports he sees another possible site for a roadside bomb — a downed telephone pole.

The convoy keeps moving until it reaches Camp Anaconda.

As it nears the base, the convoy comes across some Iraqi children. One Iraqi boy flips off the soldiers.

Fox, of Lenoir, N.C., said some Iraqi children will thank American troops as convoys go by, but then yell curses if the troops don’t throw them something, like candy. Fox said he learned early on not to throw candy at Iraqi girls, because Iraqi boys will beat them up and take the candy away from them.

Once, he did throw some candy to an Iraqi girl, who received a right hook from a little boy, he said.

“She stood back up and started asking for more [candy],” Fox said.

[Gorilla24D]

 /:)P

[RIFLEMAN24G]

Sweet, Anaconda was a part of our AO when I was over there.

[Gorilla24D]

Only place we could get a break .When we would go up LTD would always find an excuse for us to get at least three days there.Usually
would say that we were going to  salvage yard.He would turn us loose and we would run like forrest to the pool or the theater.Funny thing was Me and Ghumm and Elder would always go to the dmro yard first.Just the ghosts there were moving.We would strip what parts ghumm and i had put on or Maint list for the duece.We would then go for stuff 3rd herd  ,or anyone else needed .I always filled the list the the Maintenance NCOIC gave me.If i couldn't find it then i'd tell OUR supply Sgt and he would go wheelin and dealin across the snake as we called it.He always went with us cause he Knew we used that place as a mental Oasis.It was great youd scream down SWORD dodgin and blowin off steam to get there(adrenaline just steaming).Then just ****in     .Always hated thier policies about route status though.They would hold US up for an IED found on The road .Instead of getting us out there to help we would wait till amber and then go.STOOOOPID.Hell once we spent an extra day cause they took forever to clear a stinking IED made from ONE ,i say again,ONE mortar round.Remember we drove vehicles made to hunt real IED's.That sucker would a been like throwing a handfull a sand at a brick wall .Still the best place i ever been for a two day vacation.Where else in the world can you go eat BK or Pizza Hut,go to the Mall so to speak,Watch a movie most folks at home haven't seen yet,Go to a pool that you know saddam prolly did cannon balls in and do one yourself,and get mortared and end the day with a night mission down one of the most dangerous roads in the world right now.(Irish being #1).Hell that pretty much sums up every trip there we had in a year.I think we went 6 times.maybe just 5.Any one else got pics of the Big metal scorpion at the fuel point in anaconda.soon as i get my Pc running up to snuff a gain i,ll drop one of those in here,maybe more cause i have a buttload of snake pics.


G@$D   over.

[RIFLEMAN24G]

The story that Wendell posted above must some other recovery unit. It was a QRF mission on RTE Tampa for a jack-knifed semi that got left behind laying in the median. We secured that ***** for almost 5 hours until a recovery unit came to get it from Anaconda. It was some unit from the 3rd ID. Northbound traffic was directed by me to the southbound lane. when the recovery team came, the gunner was screamng and yelling at the on coming traffic, scared as hell and not knowing what to do or how to control the traffic. His truck was the lead victor and when they rolled by us he yells out "Thanks for the security ****ers". My squad leader and LT standing there. They stopped down the road in front of our victor. My squad leader walked to the their truck and chewed the gunner's ass out bad. End of mission , Charlie miked and headed home. I dont think they had been out that far from the LSA.