Interview w/ LTC Schrout 2-6 INF Salman Pak

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

I had the chance to talk with another of our ground commanders LTC Schrout of 2-6 INF whose unit took over operations in the area of Salman Pak. That name should ring a bell as it is one of the Sunni havens just near Baghdad where the insurgents would hide during our previous clear and not hold operations. He actually described it as a bedroom community for the bad guys just a quick run up the highway to SE Baghdad.

There is a larger degree of violence in this A/O compared to yesterday's as discussed with LTC Morales. The Sunni tribes around Salman Pak are still jockeying for position and while many have joined the Sons Of Iraq, approx. 3,000, others still opppose the government and 2-6 caught some of the brunt of this when they lost two soldiers in an ambush as they were leaving a local council meeting June 23rd. Godspeed to CPT Dalessio and PFC Thomas and their families.

This is a tough example of the difficulty of COIN as the troops are more exposed and are going to be in particular locations at specific times. That offers the chance for an ambush, but it then places the onus on the Iraqi forces to find out who violated their hospitality. If they begin to associate their honor with their ability to keep bad guys out or make them dead, we will see true security. Here is the audio, rt. click and download if you have a slow connection.

Download InterviewLTCSchrout071108.mp3

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Interview w/ LTC Schrout 2-6 INF Salman Pak

I had the chance to talk with another of our ground commanders LTC Schrout of 2-6 INF whose unit took over operations in the area of Salman Pak. That name should ring a bell as it is one of the Sunni havens just near Baghdad where the insurgents would hide during our previous clear and not hold operations. He actually described it as a bedroom community for the bad guys just a quick run up the highway to SE Baghdad.

There is a larger degree of violence in this A/O compared to yesterday's as discussed with LTC Morales. The Sunni tribes around Salman Pak are still jockeying for position and while many have joined the Sons Of Iraq, approx. 3,000, others still opppose the government and 2-6 caught some of the brunt of this when they lost two soldiers in an ambush as they were leaving a local council meeting June 23rd. Godspeed to CPT Dalessio and PFC Thomas and their families.

This is a tough example of the difficulty of COIN as the troops are more exposed and are going to be in particular locations at specific times. That offers the chance for an ambush, but it then places the onus on the Iraqi forces to find out who violated their hospitality. If they begin to associate their honor with their ability to keep bad guys out or make them dead, we will see true security. Here is the audio, rt. click and download if you have a slow connection.

Download InterviewLTCSchrout071108.mp3

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