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Frustration and Deceit on U.S.-Iraqi Patrol in Mosul
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Inside a small trailer in the back of the outpost, Capt. David Sandoval, the company commander, was working the phones and monitoring video streams from security cameras and unmanned aerial vehicles. He was trying to figure out where the mortars were fired from.
The next round of explosions rang out. A U.S. military facility was being attacked with rocket-propelled grenades.
"These guys will throw rounds at you, hit-and-run tactics," Sandoval said. "And then they're gone. It's somewhat frustrating."
Sweet Tea and IEDs
Soon, Baxter's men headed out for their second patrol. This time, they canvassed a neighborhood near the outpost. A small group of Iraqi soldiers came along. Residents were polite but circumspect.
A man invited Baxter in. The lieutenant told the man he wanted to find out who placed a bomb that exploded at a nearby school. Two schools in Mosul had been bombed recently. U.S. military officials discovered the schools were targeted because insurgents wrongly believed that soldiers intended to turn them into combat outposts.
"The terrorists don't care if the IEDs hurt children," Baxter said, referring to improvised explosive devices. "The IEDs don't hurt us. We have armor and tanks. They can't hurt us in our vehicles. They only hurt the children."
Baxter asked him whether he ever saw men with masks and guns roaming the streets. No, no, the man assured him. Baxter turned to the man's young son.
"Have you seen men wearing masks?" Baxter asked the boy. "Carrying weapons?"
The boy looked Baxter in the eye and nodded.
The man excused himself and went to make sweet tea for the soldiers.
Other soldiers in Baxter's platoon had been visiting other houses in the neighborhood with Iraqi troops, who moved at a sluggish pace. When U.S. soldiers screened houses for threats, Iraqi army soldiers stood in the way rather than help them make sure the house was safe.
After leaving a house, U.S. soldier drenched in sweat blared out, "What's the penalty for punching an IA officer?"
