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By Pfc. Benjamin Gable, 7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
BAGHDAD, Iraq – The Stryker moves in formation down route Irish, engine softly humming, tempting the Soldiers to fall fast asleep in the darkness of the early morning. All is well, until the odor of the city creeps in the hatch, filling the nostrils of the troops. Senses are alarmed; eyebrows rise. The stench means the Soldiers are now deep into the city, and enemy contact could come at any time, but their experience and camaraderie helps ease their nerves after all they have been through together.
Roughly 30 Soldiers from Company B, 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, have been together since the company’s inception in 2004. When they arrived at their newly formed unit in Fort Lewis, Wash., they found they had no supplies and no equipment, only themselves.
Three years later, and three months into their 15-month deployment; they know all they really need is each other. For some of these "Bayonet" Soldiers, the brotherhood goes back to their first days in the Army.
“Some of us have been together since basic training at Fort Benning,” said Spc. Jason Lynch, an infantryman with the Bayonets. “By now, we know how each other operates and how to lift each other’s spirits.”
The Bayonets’ mission is to work with the 1st Infantry Division to help bring security and stability to the southern part of the Iraqi capital.
This day’s mission was to perform a search of houses and provide security for Soldiers moving on the ground.
These Bayonet brothers have trained and fought together both at home and abroad.
In the summer of 2006, members of this unit were deployed to Winthrop, Wash., to help local fire fighters battle wild fires threatening resident’s homes. The blaze covered more than 164,000 acres, and standing side-by-side during the middle of it were Soldiers from Bravo Company.
“We had some close calls out there,” said Staff Sgt. Eduardo Oyola, a platoon leader and native of Ponce, Puerto Rico, with the Bayonets. Oyola added that even though his guys only received a crash-course in fire fighting, he knew they had each other’s backs.
The Bravo Company Soldiers also spent time in Korea as part of a live-fire training exercise.
“It was fun because we were together,” said Spc. Peter Forslund, a native of Jacksonville, Fla., and infantryman in the unit.
Now they are fighting in the streets of Baghdad.
The Bayonets are tasked with clearing houses, searching for explosive devices and securing neighborhoods to provide support to the Iraqi army.
Since arriving in April, three Soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice.
“It’s been tough so far,” said Oyola. “But we know we can lean on each other and make it through anything.”
Oyola said he knows his guys get down at times, but he keeps them looking ahead and focusing on the missions to help make sure they all get home in the end.
Once their deployment in Iraq ends, some of the Bayonet Soldiers plan on re-classing to other jobs, and others plan on returning to civilian life. According to Oyola, before anyone makes any career moves, the Bayonets plan to throw a huge luau in honor of their fallen friends, and to enjoy there last days as a unit together.
(via Blog-Ah!)