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Middle East Times reporter hurt by IED

Jan-15-2008 » Filed Under: 4/2 SBCT

Here's more on a story we posted yesterday.

By RICHARD TOMKINS, Middle East Times

The improvised explosive device, or IED, is al-Qaida's weapon of choice in the war in Iraq. Encountering one, whether soldier or civilian, is simply a matter of chance or fate, unless you are a U.S, military combat engineer. Then it is a question of "when" rather than "if."

Combat engineers in any country's military are the unsung heroes of war. They are upfront, ahead of the so-called "tip of the spear" infantry. They destroy obstacles and construct bridges and paths the foot soldier must pass through to reach their objective. In Iraq, they also seek out the IEDs terrorists and insurgents use to great effect.

I accompanied one such unit last week and learned firsthand the difference between imagining what it's like to be blown up by an IED and actually experiencing it.

I was blown up last Tuesday. Luckily I can write about it. Many others who've shared the experience can't. They're dead, or their bodies and brains are so messed up by shrapnel or concussion they can't remember the details.

Others simply don't want to remember and the psyche obliges. Some memories are best kept in a haze. Shock and trauma CAN be blessings.

My experience with an IED came about 6.30 a.m. local time on the morning of Jan. 8. It was kickoff day for Operation Raider Harvest, part of a major effort by U.S. forces to root out and destroy al-Qaida operatives still operating in an area of Diyala province, known as the bread basket.

The unit I embedded with was the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Platoon, 38th Combat Engineer Battalion, attached to the 4th Stryker Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division. The mission was to lead a company of infantrymen in Stryker vehicles (armored troop carriers) into the area while clearing their path of IEDs.

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