Paratroopers from Company C, 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, take cover after receiving enemy fire in Tal Afar, Iraq
TAL AFAR, IRAQ
11.25.2005
Story by Sgt. James Wilt 82nd Airborne Division
Pfc. James Wilt
82nd Airborne Division Public Affairs Office
Task Force White Falcon
TALL AFAR, Iraq " The sound of a lone shot defiled the peace and serenity of the cool, crisp morning air.
Reacting to the contact, a small element of Soldiers, who were in the open, made a break for cover while other Soldiers in an overlooking position scanned the area for a shooter.
In a series of deliberate movements, both groups of Soldiers leapfrogged toward the area the attack came from in an effort to find the shooter.
Everyday, paratroopers from Company C, 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, conduct presence patrols through the neighborhoods here in an effort to be seen by the local people and the local insurgents.
"It just lets people know we're still here, were out patrolling the area," said Staff Sgt. Haven Crecelius, 25, an infantryman from Denison, Iowa.
The people see the paratroopers on the street. The residents often approach the Soldiers to speak to them.
But, the insurgents also see the paratroopers on the street and on more than one occasion have attacked them.
Insurgent attacks against the paratroopers, while dangerous, play into the hands of the Soldiers.
"In our minds it is a movement to contact, were trying to draw the insurgents out, so that we can take them down," Crecelius said.
Even though the paratroopers conduct presence patrols at least twice a day, the men rarely come under fire.
"We don't usually take contact; it's just been a few separate times," Crecelius said.
When the paratroopers do receive enemy fire, they react quickly.
"We move on shots, wherever shots come from we move to themâ?¦we try to get to the shooter itself," Crecelius said.
While moving through the city on foot makes the men of Co. C targets, they feel being dismounted is to their advantage.
"We can maneuver better on the ground then in vehicles. Vehicles can get somewhere quicker and cordon off an area but dismounts, we can maneuver, take cover and we can locateâ?¦the shooter better than the vehicle can," Crecelius said.
Despite being a dismounted unit, the Soldiers still rely on vehicles.
"If we get contact, we have vehicle support," said Spc. Scott Johnson, 25, an infantryman from Albert Lea, Minn.
Vehicles are used to cordon off an area after making contact allowing the dismounts to search the area, Crecelius said.
Despite the various dangers on the streets of the city, the paratroopers of Co. C are committed to the patrols.
"We have to do this because besides informants this is the only way we can identify exactly who is bad or an area they are operating out of," Johnson said.
The paratroopers also realize the impact it has on the inhabitants of the city.
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