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Toys could help to establish trust

Oct-10-2006 » Filed Under: 3/2 SBCT

SEAN COCKERHAM; The News Tribune

MOSUL, IRAQ – Little girls squealed and screamed as if the Fort Lewis soldiers were a boy band.

The Iraqi kids were going crazy Monday because troops from 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment had boxes of goodies: crayons, soccer balls, backpacks, clothes and more.

The soldiers were hoping the gifts would bring more than good will; they also wanted information.

Enemy fighters have been launching mortars from the area – possibly even from the courtyard of the same girls school where the soldiers were getting rock-star treatment.

“We know where they are coming from, or at least close, because of radar,” said Capt. Brent Clemmer, a 33-year-old from Steilacoom who commands Charlie Company.

The mortars target a nearby Iraqi army camp. Two of Clemmer’s soldiers live and work at the camp with their Iraqi counterparts.

The army base is also next door to one of the major hospitals in Mosul, once known as Saddam Hospital. A slightly stray mortar round could easily smash into the medical facility.

But finding the mortar men was going to be tough.

“The chances of actually running into these guys and killing them is very small,” said Clemmer.

He knows the streets of eastern Mosul well, having operated in this area when his Fort Lewis battalion deployed here almost three years ago.


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