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A mighty fortress

YUSUFIYAH, Iraq — The imposing facade of “The Castle” can be seen from miles away.

Photo slideshow

• On patrol with Alpha Company

For months, the dull gray structure sat empty; its only visitors were insurgents who took advantage of the massive, half-built thermal power plant as a place to meet, plot and train. When insurgents kidnapped, tortured and killed two soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division last year, they brought them to this power plant, and burned their bodies on the bridge leading to this place.

It became one of the most feared sites in the Euphrates River Valley, about 15 miles southwest of Baghdad.

But in October, soldiers with Alpha and Charlie companies, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, secured the roads and seized the power plant. Alpha Company promptly moved in, named it Combined Patrol Base Dragon after the battalion’s Golden Dragons moniker, and has been here ever since.

The soldiers say their presence here, nestled among miles and miles of farmland and about 15,000 residents, is a key deterrent to terrorists intent on using the back roads to smuggle weapons and plot attacks on Baghdad.

The power plant “was a training base, a stronghold,” said Capt. Dan Hurd, commander of Alpha, 2-14. “There are a lot of bad people in this area, but there are enough tribal leaders who are willing to say, ‘It was horrible before you guys got here.’ I think for the most part, people are really glad it’s no longer a sign of the insurgency. That’s what it was. It was intimidation. It was a symbol.”

About 90 percent of the soldiers in 2-14 live in forward positions, said Maj. Brock Jones, the battalion executive officer.

“It provides [the local population] the sense of security they’re looking for,” he said. “It allows us to rapid react in our area of operations and it also gives us a great knowledge and sense of the area.”

Lt. Col. Frank Andrews, the brigade executive officer, agreed.

“We have to have a full-time presence,” he said. “We don’t commute to work.”

The brigade, which took control in September, has about 3,400 soldiers. They man 27 patrol bases, strong points or battle positions across the area of operations, which spans about 330 square miles, from southwest Baghdad to the Euphrates River. The sprawling power plant is by far the largest piece of property seized by the brigade.

The area of responsibility has proven busy and dangerous for the brigade — soldiers here have unearthed more than 200 weapons caches, but 18 soldiers have been killed and another 150 have been wounded. And the brigade is barely halfway into its deployment.

They now are working to get Iraqi forces prepared to assume responsibility for the area’s security, setting up Joint Security Stations that will house Iraqi soldiers and police.

Life at the power plant consists mainly of foot patrols into the neighboring villages or guard duty on the gun positions that cover the compound.

“The fact that we’re out in sector 24 hours a day, I think that was an impact on the people,” said 1st Lt. Philip Sanabria, who leads 1st Platoon. “I think the innocent people like that we’re here. I think if you’re an insurgent you probably don’t like it because we’re in your face every day.”

The soldiers, about 120 from Alpha Company and 80 more who are attached to it, worked hard to build their own slice of home at the power plant, a five-story heap of rubble, scaffolding and twisted rebar.

The soldiers have brought some order amid the dusty chaos, adding Internet access and telephone systems, a gym and a mobile kitchen team that serves breakfast and dinner every day. There’s a priceless view across the Euphrates River, but that’s perhaps a reminder that whatever comforts the soldiers find here, they remain a long way from home. There is no running water or showers, and the concrete building gets cold at night.

The soldiers take their inspiration where they can get it. One room on this base that they are particularly proud of is the trophy room, an impressive display of weapons they have unearthed.

First Sgt. David Schumacher said the trophy room helps keep the soldiers motivated.

“When they go out [on patrol], you want them at their best,” he said.

Alpha, 2-14’s battle space is occupied primarily by poor potato farmers. The terrain is rough, and because of the IED threat on the roads, the soldiers are forced to walk through fields and jump across canals to get to the neighboring villages.

The soldiers often patrol with Iraqi soldiers. About 60 of them live at Patrol Base Dragon, members of 4th Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division.

“You hear people say, ‘I trust the Americans more than I trust the Iraqi army,’” Hurd said. “It hurts me when I hear that. We need to make the people trust the Iraqi army. It doesn’t matter if the Iraqi army can protect them. If they believe they can, the people will police themselves.”

Jones said the Iraqi army is critical to the battalion’s success.

“The whole overarching plan is we’re handing over this area to the Iraqi army,” he said. “The Iraqi people are now coming to the Iraqi army with their problems, and we’re slowly moving from the forefront.”

Schumacher agreed.

“We all know this is going to be theirs some day,” he said. “You’ve got to cut the umbilical cord some time.”

While commanders agree that the terrain is the biggest challenge the soldiers face physically, fighting the insurgency the right way is by far the biggest test for their soldiers.

“The people just want to grow their crops, live in peace and they want safety for their children,” Jones said.

However, the area sees heavy traffic from cells that specialize in building and setting improvised explosive devices, vehicle-borne IEDs and heavy weapons trafficking, he said.

“In this area it’s not about the big battle,” he said. “It’s about doing the hard, steady work of working with the people, because they’re the key to us being successful here.”

Pfc. Bryce Klockenga, 22, the 1st Platoon medic, goes on patrol almost every day.

“It’s been pretty productive,” he said. “You go out around and talk to the people a lot. Some of them are thankful we’re here. They’re afraid to express it, but they’re grateful,” he said. “Some of them live in fear, though. They get threatened a lot so they’re afraid to talk to us.”

The company has sent patrols to villages to provide medical care to the locals. Once, nobody showed up — they were afraid. On a recent day at the village of Abu Faris, however, the physician’s assistant and two medics on the patrol ran out of medication because so many villagers showed up for care.

Schumacher is optimistic about the future of the area.

“When we leave here, it’d be great to see an insurgent-free area,” he said. “Will it happen before we leave? Probably not, but it would be a great end state.”

Read more on David Schumacher:

Through 8 tours, soldier sticks with 2-14