The Tigris River flows in northern Iraq, where Delta/52 soldiers have started patrolling to catch insurgents who have been known to cross the river to avoid vehicle checkpoints along major roadways. (Sandra Jontz / Stars and Stripes)
NINEVAH PROVINCE, Iraq — First Lt. Drew Godwin is testing new waters.
The leader of 1st Platoon of Delta/52 Infantry Company, 1st Stryker Brigade, 25th Infantry Division is scouring the banks of the Tigris River in northern Iraq for spots where insurgents might cross over.
Insurgents have been known to cross the river at strategic points, especially at night, to bypass U.S. and Iraqi army checkpoints along the major routes between Mosul and Tal Afar, Godwin, 24, said.
Often, insurgents who might either work or live on the eastern side of the river have collaborators on the western side — the side of the major thoroughfares — who link them up with staging vehicles on the banks, allowing them to transport weapons, bomb-making materials, car bombs, and large sums of money, Godwin said.
“If they hit one of the [traffic control points], it increases the chances they’ll get caught,” he said.
For the time being, the “Demons” of Delta/52 can only patrol the banks in Stryker vehicles, monitoring possible docking points and spreading word that boats are prohibited on the river at night, Godwin said. But he wants a boat so soldiers can begin patrolling the waterway itself, he said.
The company only recently started patrolling the riverbanks. Since arriving in country in October, they and soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery have been patrolling towns and villages where insurgents migrated following the clampdown in Mosul, about an hour’s drive north of their base camp of Qayyarh-West.
Delta/52 has a unique outpost in Ash Shurah which they share with Iraqi soldiers of the 102nd Battalion and maintain a 24-hour presence in the town of 6,000 residents.
That’s where Spc. Krist Zeynalyan, 24, prefers to work.
“It’s a great success story,” Zeynalyan said. “When I’m back in the rear, I miss being out there. For one, it takes so long to get to a destination. Just one way can take an hour. Out there, we’re on our own schedule, there’s more freedom of movement. We’re out in the community, doing more patrolling and that makes me feel better about myself when I can really do my job.”
And the Iraqi army soldiers with whom they live and work have come a long way from once scurrying away from a firefight to now sticking by the American soldiers to provide security, U.S. soldiers said.
The Tigris River flows in northern Iraq, where Delta/52 soldiers have started patrolling to catch insurgents who have been known to cross the river to avoid vehicle checkpoints along major roadways. (Sandra Jontz / Stars and Stripes)
Soldiers from Delta/52 Infantry Company, 1st Stryker Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, patrol with a Stryker vehicle near the Tigris River in Iraq. (Sandra Jontz)
Drivers along Iraq's highways have become accustomed to staying at least 100 meters behind U.S. military vehicle convoys, as seen from the back of the Army's newest wheeled tactical vehicle, the Stryker. (Sandra Jontz / Stars and Stripes)
Soldiers from Delta/52 Infantry Company crawl under a Stryker to change a flat tire the vehicle sustained during a recent mission. It took more than an hour to remove the flattened front tire and replace it with the one right behind it. (Sandra Jontz / Stars and Stripes)
