The Cost of Doing Business August 6, 2006
The Cost of Doing Business
August 6, 2006
The city of Kirkuk is considered relatively safe. Like any other city, it has its good neighborhoods and its bad neighborhoods. Unfortunately, insurgent or terrorist-led violence can turn any neighborhood bad in a matter of seconds.
The soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division’s Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, know their sector well. They have traveled its streets on foot and in Humvees for almost a year now. The soldiers know which Iraqi Police (IP) they trust. They know which muktars they would like to bust. In Arafa, a section of the city that falls under the watch of Bravo Company’s 2nd Platoon, the soldiers even have a favorite market, located right across the street from the Arafa Police Station. The market is closed now.
One night, on a routine patrol with Bravo’s 2nd Platoon, our convoy responded to a report of gunshots being fired. Our patrol was being conducted jointly with members of the IP, who received the call and led the way to the possible crime scene. Our soldiers know how the IP like to drive, usually fast and recklessly, and they know the shortcuts leading from one part of the city to another. It only took seconds for them to notice the IP were taking a longer route, a route that led us past the soldiers’ favorite market, and they were driving rather slowly. Sergeant Ned Healy, often in charge of keeping Miss Shelby safe, commented on the amount of people gathered in the area. Crowds collect in marketplaces throughout the city, and usually they conduct their business and make it home safely, but crowds always seem vulnerable. Soldiers are always told to spread out on foot patrols. Too many people in one place can present too tempting a target.
When we arrived at the site where the shots had been reported, there was nothing going on. Moments later, a car bomb exploded in front of the 2nd Platoon’s favorite market. Car bombs, also known as VBIEDs (Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices), have become a popular weapon and can do a great deal of damage. We rushed back to the market area, the soldiers dreading what they might find. The storefronts had been destroyed, along with three cars in the vicinity. The husk of the car that had been turned into a bomb sat on the sidewalk in front of the shops. A gravely wounded motorist was treated but later died, and another civilian was killed at the scene. The soldiers were heartsick. This had been their neighborhood.
While they worked to secure the area, the soldiers also scrambled to find the owner of their favorite store. He was located, and Sergeant Brian Blake, our patrol leader, along with the other concerned soldiers, was clearly relieved to see that he had survived. His head was bandaged, and he had lost his shoes, but he wanted to make his way through the broken glass, the twisted pieces of metal and unidentifiable debris, to survey the damage to his store and retrieve the money from the cash register. The soldiers offered to go in for him, not wanting him to risk further injury, but he insisted, so they borrowed some shoes from an Iraqi policeman and helped him make his way through the wreckage.
It is possible to view the aftermath of an explosion, whether caused by an IED or a VBIED, with a certain amount of detachment. There is so much about these attacks that does not make sense. There is too much to absorb. But when the soldiers from Bravo Company saw what remained of their market, they were affected almost as if they had been caught in the explosion. Brian, Ned, gunner Joe Morton, and our driver Chris Myers began speculating. They could not help but wonder if the bomb had been meant for them, or if they had drawn attention to the market by being regular customers. They wondered if the IP had been involved, had deliberately led them through that area earlier.
After we arrived back at the base, the soldiers were anxious to replay the events of the night, hoping to make some sense of what had happened. Lieutenant Erik Wright led the discussion, and everybody weighed in. The soldiers have responded to enough explosions now that they know where they need to be and what they need to do. But because this explosion had hit so close to home, they could not accept that they had done all they could. They wanted to turn back the clock and prevent the explosion from ever happening.
It is impossible to undo what has been done. It is impossible to understand how random and devastating acts of violence could ever be justified. The VBIED at the marketplace could have been much worse, though not for the victims who died that day or their families. As much as the soldiers would love to prevent every explosion that takes place in the city, they cannot be everywhere, and they have learned that maybe it is best not to be anywhere too often. The soldiers of Bravo Company’s 2nd Platoon have added the image of their favorite market destroyed to the countless images of destruction that every soldier carries in his head. And their patrols have grown more complicated, as they try to avoid following the same route twice, and wonder where to take their business now. shelbymonroe@gmail.com
August 6, 2006
The city of Kirkuk is considered relatively safe. Like any other city, it has its good neighborhoods and its bad neighborhoods. Unfortunately, insurgent or terrorist-led violence can turn any neighborhood bad in a matter of seconds.
The soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division’s Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, know their sector well. They have traveled its streets on foot and in Humvees for almost a year now. The soldiers know which Iraqi Police (IP) they trust. They know which muktars they would like to bust. In Arafa, a section of the city that falls under the watch of Bravo Company’s 2nd Platoon, the soldiers even have a favorite market, located right across the street from the Arafa Police Station. The market is closed now.
One night, on a routine patrol with Bravo’s 2nd Platoon, our convoy responded to a report of gunshots being fired. Our patrol was being conducted jointly with members of the IP, who received the call and led the way to the possible crime scene. Our soldiers know how the IP like to drive, usually fast and recklessly, and they know the shortcuts leading from one part of the city to another. It only took seconds for them to notice the IP were taking a longer route, a route that led us past the soldiers’ favorite market, and they were driving rather slowly. Sergeant Ned Healy, often in charge of keeping Miss Shelby safe, commented on the amount of people gathered in the area. Crowds collect in marketplaces throughout the city, and usually they conduct their business and make it home safely, but crowds always seem vulnerable. Soldiers are always told to spread out on foot patrols. Too many people in one place can present too tempting a target.
When we arrived at the site where the shots had been reported, there was nothing going on. Moments later, a car bomb exploded in front of the 2nd Platoon’s favorite market. Car bombs, also known as VBIEDs (Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices), have become a popular weapon and can do a great deal of damage. We rushed back to the market area, the soldiers dreading what they might find. The storefronts had been destroyed, along with three cars in the vicinity. The husk of the car that had been turned into a bomb sat on the sidewalk in front of the shops. A gravely wounded motorist was treated but later died, and another civilian was killed at the scene. The soldiers were heartsick. This had been their neighborhood.
While they worked to secure the area, the soldiers also scrambled to find the owner of their favorite store. He was located, and Sergeant Brian Blake, our patrol leader, along with the other concerned soldiers, was clearly relieved to see that he had survived. His head was bandaged, and he had lost his shoes, but he wanted to make his way through the broken glass, the twisted pieces of metal and unidentifiable debris, to survey the damage to his store and retrieve the money from the cash register. The soldiers offered to go in for him, not wanting him to risk further injury, but he insisted, so they borrowed some shoes from an Iraqi policeman and helped him make his way through the wreckage.
It is possible to view the aftermath of an explosion, whether caused by an IED or a VBIED, with a certain amount of detachment. There is so much about these attacks that does not make sense. There is too much to absorb. But when the soldiers from Bravo Company saw what remained of their market, they were affected almost as if they had been caught in the explosion. Brian, Ned, gunner Joe Morton, and our driver Chris Myers began speculating. They could not help but wonder if the bomb had been meant for them, or if they had drawn attention to the market by being regular customers. They wondered if the IP had been involved, had deliberately led them through that area earlier.
After we arrived back at the base, the soldiers were anxious to replay the events of the night, hoping to make some sense of what had happened. Lieutenant Erik Wright led the discussion, and everybody weighed in. The soldiers have responded to enough explosions now that they know where they need to be and what they need to do. But because this explosion had hit so close to home, they could not accept that they had done all they could. They wanted to turn back the clock and prevent the explosion from ever happening.
It is impossible to undo what has been done. It is impossible to understand how random and devastating acts of violence could ever be justified. The VBIED at the marketplace could have been much worse, though not for the victims who died that day or their families. As much as the soldiers would love to prevent every explosion that takes place in the city, they cannot be everywhere, and they have learned that maybe it is best not to be anywhere too often. The soldiers of Bravo Company’s 2nd Platoon have added the image of their favorite market destroyed to the countless images of destruction that every soldier carries in his head. And their patrols have grown more complicated, as they try to avoid following the same route twice, and wonder where to take their business now. shelbymonroe@gmail.com
posted by Shelby Monroe at 6:30 AM
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