Photo by 2nd Lt. Mike Daschel
Spc. Robert Thompson provides security from the rooftop of the Ghazaliya combat outpost compound


Living in the neighborhood has advantages

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 1, 2007
By 2nd Lt. Mike Daschel,
2-12 PAO, 4th BCT, 1st Cavalry Div.

BAGHDAD, Iraq – For two weeks now Company C of the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment has been based at their combat outpost in central Ghazaliya. The outpost, staffed by as many as a hundred soldiers, is shared with the Iraqi Army and is used as part of a new strategy in fighting the insurgency in Baghdad.

The outpost’s construction, which was planned well before a new strategy of living in the neighborhoods was announced, is the first of its kind in Baghdad.

Combat Outpost: Casino, as it is officially known, is surrounded by concrete barriers and includes six houses. Half of the houses belong to the Iraqi Army and the other half to U.S. forces. A large field is also enclosed within the perimeter of barriers to eventually park vehicles in.

Soldiers sleep in crowded rooms with no heating, and have no running sewage system, but outhouses they built and service themselves. In addition to combat patrols, soldiers travel to Camp Liberty daily to conduct their own logistical missions such as refueling and supplying food.

“It’s all right,” commented Spc. Gabriel Thornberry, a soldier stationed at the outpost. “It would be better if we had electricity that didn’t fry you every time you plug something in.” The electricity is produced by generators at the outpost and the electrical components inside were rewired during the construction.

Being based in Ghazaliya has seen its share of success stories. Just days after moving in, Corporal Peter Callahan, a medic, saved the life of a four-year-old girl who was brought in by her family with a pulse below forty beats per minute.

During a patrol in Ghazaliya, Spc. John Laweryson, who was driving a humvee, spotted suspicious looking vehicle. One of the men inside was acting strangely. “I thought either he was wounded, or trying to hide something,” Spc. Laweryson said.

He explained that after the vehicle turned around, trying to slip away from the American patrol, they were blocked off by the soldiers with nowhere to go. The men in the car scattered away by foot. “They dispersed into a building.”

When the vehicle was searched, a kidnapping victim who was in the trunk of the car with his hands bound together was rescued. He was taken to the outpost, and after two days there, his father arrived to take him home in a very emotional reunion.

The combat outpost is a work in progress, waiting for more materials to finish the construction completely. But it is fully operational. Security is provided by soldiers from the rooftop throughout the day, and the majority of the soldiers of company C spend their time there, conducting logistical operations and combat patrols.



Photo by 2nd Lt. Mike Daschel
Sgt. Lee Sparks, a mechanic from Company F, 2-12 Cavalry, works to repair a generator at the combat outpost


Photo by 2nd Lt. Mike Daschel
The highest rooftop at the combat outpost provides a good view of the surrounding neighborhood of Ghazaliya in western Baghdad


Photo by 2nd Lt. Mike Daschel
Military vehicles are staged around the entry control point to the Ghazaliya combat outpost. Soldiers operate in them throughout the day to provide security and overwatch of the roads leading into the compound