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Deuce Four’s many hats

Jun-18-2005 » Filed Under: 1/25 SBCT

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MATT MISTEREK; The News Tribune

MOSUL, Iraq – A convoy of Strykers was making a beeline for one of the busiest crossroads in the city, rushing to the aid of some cavalrymen who’d hit a roadside bomb near the infamous Yarmouk Traffic Circle.

But the explosion was small, and by the time Capt. Scott Cheney and his soldiers arrived, the cavalry vehicle had already started back to base.

After a busy morning, Cheney’s troops were ready to turn around and head home, too – until they spotted a black column of smoke rising about 500 meters west of the traffic circle.

A fuel tanker was on fire, the second of the day and the third in two days.

The 28-year-old officer from Lacey, suddenly thrown into the role of arson investigator, led his soldiers to the plume. They walked building to building in an industrial area, looking for witnesses while Iraqi fire crews doused the flaming truck cab.[...]

Fighting a war without a true front or linear battle lines, the soldiers of the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division – Fort Lewis’ second Stryker brigade – find themselves doing jobs where the titles and distinctions have blurred. They are being pressed into a variety of roles for which they might have little experience or training: policeman, fire commissioner, public contracting expert, teacher and diplomat, to name a few.

Of the Stryker brigade’s three infantry battalions, Deuce Four is the one perhaps most associated with a single-minded focus: an intense warrior ethos.

The battalion’s charismatic commander, Lt. Col. Erik Kurilla, has an anti-insurgent poster pinned by a dagger on his door frame. It features an emaciated skull and a warning:

“Terrorists, we are coming for you! You cannot escape us, we hunt you by day, we hunt you by night. Do not run … you will only die tired.”

But Kurilla said he’s constantly impressed by the flexibility and initiative shown by junior leaders in his battalion. And some of the roles they fill are a few steps removed from capturing or killing the enemy.[...]


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