Active Unit News

Eamil from Col. Don Campbell, 1st Brigade Commander
Bob Babcock - "Deeds not Words"
President, Americans Remembered, Inc. - http://www.americansremembered.org
President, 22nd Inf Regt Society - http://www.22ndinfantry.org
Past President/Historian - Nat'l 4th Inf Div Assn - http://www.4thinfantry.org
babcock224@aol.com

Yesterday was a slow news day on the internet. I did, however, receive an email note from one of the best possible sources for us - COL Don Campbell, 1st Brigade Commander of the 4ID in Iraq. Here is what he had to say about his "Raider" Brigade: We are doing great, 3-66 got ambushed today on a patrol. Their actions on contact were superb, 3 enemy KIA, 3 WIA, 5 EPWs, NO friendly casualties. 1-22 continues to do a great job in Tikrit, they've captured some leading Ba'ath Party members lately. 1-66 in Samarra continues to do a great job. They've had a week filled with contact. What you read about in the wedding party article in yesterday's update is not entirely true. While it was a wedding party, the last vehicle in the party fired at a 1-66 patrol, we returned fire, and, unlike the Iraqi's, we hit what we aim at. 299th Engineers continues to destroy ammunition and guards large weapons caches. Additionally, they have conducted Tigris river patrols to catch paramilitary types running weapons on the river. 4-42 Artillery is working hard in Ad Dawr and making a substantial contribution to securing the East of Tikrit across the Tigris. Finally, 4th FSB as always is keeping us fed, fueled, and running our equipment in great shape. I'm proud of our soldiers, under difficult circumstances they contiune to excel. We had our first substantial rain in 60 days in theater today! Mail has picked up here, most soldiers are receiving mail quite frequently. We are working to get phone banks down to each Battalion, I've just been given a good sum of money to improve upon soldier's quality of life. We'll put that to good use. Ed Timms did leave today, however, I was asked today if I wanted another embed reporter, I said yes. She'll probably join us in two weeks. I'll keep you posted. (A great way to start today's update - real and current news from one of the commanders on the ground).
The Brigade continues to excel at all missions assigned. Our soldiers are performing magnificently and quality of life gets better every day. We've had many Company level changes of command recently and lots of new faces are now leading soldiers in the Battalions. HHC Brigade is located in Tikrit in a VIP Hotel/Palace. Soldiers have occupied rooms and are making the best use of the Palace that we can. We have no running water but do have electricity and some areas in the Palace have air conditioning! Chow is getting better and soldiers have figured out how to rig showers and improve their position. Looks like we'll be here for a while, at least through my change of command 15 June. 1-22 is also in Tikrit and continues to do a great job in providing a secure environment. "Sheik" LTC Woempner has become a hit with the locals; he eats out almost every night with a local leader, to include the appointed Governor. The Regular Battalion has really excelled, they've probably seen the most combat in the BCT during the last few months. The have done an outstanding job in upholding the great tradition handed down by previous generations of Regulars! Soldiers are doing great and are making a difference on a regular basis. HHC changed command last week, CPT Scott Thomas turned over to CPT Chris Fallon. B Company changed as well, CPT Bryant Love changed over to CPT Scott Thomas. Scott's father-in-law, MG Thurman CFLCC G3 attended the B Company change. MG Thurman will be our new Division CG later this summer. 1-66 is in Samarra and has been working hard to bring peace to that town. The Iron Knights have had their share of mortar fire recently, however, the good news is that there were no serious injuries from either attack. C Company continues to excel in Mosul working with the 101st, 2nd Brigade. HHC changed command today, CPT Andy Deponai changed to CPT Mike Kosuda. Then A Company changed from CPT Andy Sanchez to CPT Deponai. Tomorrow B Company will change from CPT Jamie Wells to CPT Dave Polizotti. 1-66 is working hard to improve their quality of life. Soldiers can visit the Iron Knight PX, watch a movie and get a shower in the FOB Stoddard compound. They too are doing a fantastic job! 3-66 is in a town called Bayji, but home is really an abandoned Iraqi airfield called K2. The Lancer Battalion has recently captured a number of high ranking Ba'ath party and Fedayeen Saddam members. They had a visit from the Corps Commander, LTG Wallace yesterday and he commented that the Lancer Battalion was doing a great job! They too have had their share of changes of command. HHC changed from CPT Neil Davids to CPT Paul Wilcox. A Company changed from CPT Eric Lindsay to CPT Craig Love. B Company changed from CPT Tim Hayden to CPT Eric Fleming. C Company changed from CPT Shane Redden to CPT Jon Cecalupo. Quality of life in Lancer Land gets better every day. 1SG McCord, HHC, built a 12 person shower facility that is first class. Soldiers can visit the Lancer PX and then watch a movie in the Lancer Lounge. They can even grab a cold water or soda; the Lancers purchased 5 large capacity freezers and are putting them to good use. 299th Engineers are our rock. They are in north Tikrit and continue to destroy ammunition and weapons caches every day. That is a tough mission, there is more ammo and weapons in this country then you can shake a stick at! Pioneer land is comfortable due in large measure to great leadership. A Company changed from CPT Derrick Boese to CPT Paul Hicks and B Company changed from CPT Bill Judson to CPT Ken Reed. LTC Mark Huron has joined the Pioneer team; he will take command on 13 June. He's currently doing his right seat ride with LTC Doug McNeese. The Proven Pioneers will soon move to a new area in order to clean up a new ammo supply point. They also continue with riverboat patrols to stop paramilitary forces from using the Tigris River to move ammo and arms. The bottom line, in true Engineer ashion the Proven Pioneers are doing a great job of blowing stuff up! 4-42 FA is in the town of Ad Dawr and maintains a presence in the town of Al Dur. The Straight Arrows have recently participated in our raid to catch black list number 52, and did a great job in setting up the outer cordon. They are also working with the local communities to establish a police force, fire station, fix the water treatment plant and sewage treatment plant. They also have assisted with food distribution in their area and have truly made a difference in improving the Iraqi's quality of life. They have assisted our combat units with great illumination at night that has helped us deter violence in our area of operations. 4th FSB, Packhorse is living large in the Brigade Support Area! The dustbowl from he.....! They are on Tikrit South airfield and have done a great job in supporting the Brigade Combat Team. They have established a PX, movie theater, dining facility and shower/Laundry site. They have excelled at maintaining our equipment, feeding us great chow and Packhorse 6; LTC Minyard keeps us laughing with his daily antics! They have driven over great distances and done with a safety record that is tremendous. Every day and night they have trucks on the road - they constantly amaze me with their professionalism! As you can see we've been busy as the main effort in the Division. I'm proud of our soldiers, you should be as well. To the families out there, your loved ones are in great spirits and are in excellent hands. I continue my pledge to keep them safe and bring them back when our National authorities deem our mission complete. Thanks for your continued support and prayers. COL Don Campbell Raider 6

Back to Active Unit Main News Page