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July 26, 2005
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By Jason Chudy
Stars and Stripes Mideast edition
Air Force Staff Sgt. Mitchell Yang talks to an A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft as it flies past an Afghan village during Operation Surri Sweep. Watching is Capt. Benjamim Wright, commander of Company A, 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry Regiment. |
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Soldiers from Company A, 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry Regiment, wrapped up Operation Surri Sweep in Afghanistan's Zabol province last week, calling it a “huge success.”
The weeklong operation by the Vicenza, Italy-based troops targeted roadside bomb-making groups in a 2,500-square-kilometer area south and east of Qalat in Zabol province, allowing for a smoother flow of commerce between the Qalat area and Pakistan.
“I think it couldn't have gone better. There were no [roadside bombs] events in Surri, period, while we were there,” said Capt. Benjamin Wright, Company A commander.
Soldiers from two of the company's three platoons, reinforced by members of various intelligence, civil affairs, engineers and Afghan National police units, and visited dozens of small villages in the windswept Surri district, which borders the Shir Ghar Mountains.
In addition to stopping the makeshift bombs, soldiers also hit the Taliban directly and indirectly.
They captured two Taliban fighters and killed another, destroyed a motorcycle that two fighters had been riding, and collected four caches of weapons and bomb-making materials.
“To contrast that, we had no casualties. Nobody even got sick,” Wright said. “All our equipment operated, and we got a better understanding of how [the Taliban] operates.”
Though the unit didn't take casualties, the operation wasn't without its difficulties. The terrain made operations difficult, especially for a squad of soldiers tasked with tackling a portion of the Shir Ghar Mountains.
Soldiers from the 2nd Squad of the company's first platoon searched mountain villages before being airlifted to a blocking position above an objective in the Surri.
Their final position was about 9,000 feet above sea level, a few thousand feet above the valley floor.
“The physically demanding part was going down the mountain while trying to stay low,” said Spc. Dave Ramirez, the squad's medic.
“I hit my head twice,” he said. “My toes got all chewed up going down the mountain. We were kind of hurting. We were glad to see the platoon come get us.”
Also during the operation, an interpreter working with the company disappeared during a night march. Soldiers immediately started to search for him after he was discovered missing.
“If we lose a person, [finding him] becomes my company's mission,” Wright said. “Whether interpreter, soldier, whatever.”
Soldiers later learned that the disappearance may not have been an accident. Another interpreter said that the man was thinking of quitting the day of the march.
Wright, however, has concerns about the man's disappearance.
“Did he quit or was he a double-agent? I don't know,” he said.
Wright said the military is now ready for the next step in the region. Surri Stabilization will involve the long-term deployment of two U.S. squads and Afghan National Army troops to the area.
“[The Taliban] can't have the same effects on commerce now because we forced him out of it,” Wright said. “We're keeping him out of it with our stay-behind force.”
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