Team cobra: 141st Signal Battalion's "tip of the sword" in Iraq

141st Signal Battalion, whose motto is, "Sword and Voice," supports the 1st Armored Division in and around Baghdad, Iraq, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Located at Logistical Support Area Dogwood, the Division Rear Headquarters is separated from the Division Main Headquarters, at Baghdad International Airport by an hour and a half convoy along one of the country's most dangerous roads. Known as "RPG Alley," Alternate Support Route Sue is a hotbed for guerilla activities. Almost daily, gunmen target American Convoys on ASR Sue with Small Arms, Rocket Propelled Grenades and Improvised Explosive Devices. The area along ASR Sue is also full of communication dead zones, which are areas where very-high frequency and ultrahigh frequency signals do not propagate. This makes it extremely dangerous for convoys under enemy attack.

The area between LSA Dogwood and BIAP was a Marine Sector of responsibility. The 141st Systems Control coordinated with Division and combined joint task force to find where the Marines were located in sector in hopes of establishing a signal site. As can be seen, this quickly became a joint mission.

The communication gap along ASR Sue had to be eliminated. Charlie Company, 141st Signal Battalion, was the "Tip of the Sword" for this mission. Charlie Company (Team Cobra) provides command, control, communication, computer and intelligence support to the Division Rear Headquarters with a Large Extention Node Platoon and retransmission of key command nets with a Radio Tactical Satellite / Retransmission Team Platoon. June 26, 2003, a Cobra Radio Access Unit and RETRANS Team established a Joint Army / Marine site at Hilltop 43 in order to blanket ASR Sue with seamless Mobile Subscriber Radio Terminal and Division Command Combat Net Radio coverage.

Moving expeditiously, the heavily armed convoy arrived at Hilltop 43, also known as "Hamburger Hill" for its mosquito infestation. Formerly an Iraqi antiaircraft and artillery site, Hamburger Hill was built for combat. Four M113s from the 69th Chemical Company's Smoke Platoon helped ensure security was tight on the Hilltop 43. Emplacing M113s and dismounted M2s was quick and effortless. Interlocking sectors of fire formed a 360-degree perimeter. M203s eliminated the blind spots, preventing enemies from cowering in them. Using the terrain to its maximum advantage, RAU and RETRANS vehicles deployed below the military crest of the hill, affording them optimal protection, while the antenna systems, silhouetted at the highest point possible, gained maximum signal strength. RAU and RETRANS emplacement and operations plugged the communications gap.

The mission was a major success with no more dead space on ASR Sue. The mission was of such high importance and visibility, the 141st Signal Battalion commander directed that an officer command the site at all times. Filling this roll were two platoon leaders. 1LT Curtis Rhymer, the Radio Platoon Leader, and 2LT David Humphries, the LEN Platoon leader, alternated time on the site ensuring continuous communications support along ASR Sue.

The second night on site, Marines indicated that someone was closing in on the site. Parachute Flares, launched by SPC Nathan McDaniel, captured no sign of intruders from the darkness. However, the following night, Iraqi gunmen opened fire with AK-47s from a nearby wood line. A solid defense plan sprung into action. As Team Cobra rushed to their fighting positions, M113s released a barrage of .50 Caliber bullets.

Tracers surged into the wood line, illuminating the countryside. Smartly, the gunmen disengaged, leaving the rest of the night peaceful. This familiar scenario played out, night after night, for the rest of the week. High-speed weapons training from Marine Corps Armorer Lance CPL Arroyo, familiarized Team Cobra with the Marines crew served weapon systems and fighting positions, in preparation for future attacks.

Logistic and engineering support was critical in keeping Hamburger Hill Operational. Several times a week, supplies and equipment had to be brought into the site. Bottled water for drinking, water for showering, meals-ready-to-eat and occasional hot meals and equipment had to be constantly rotated onto the site. Additionally, engineers were tasked to help improve site security building berms and clearing sectors of fire. With the large amount of traffic coming to the site, patrols had to be conducted along the entry road to check for mines or improvised explosive devices.

Concluding several weeks on Hamburger Hill, Battalion Operations working with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force located an abandoned compound near a 1st MEF Forward Operating Base. This compound, our new home, came to be known as Camp Venom.

Rolling toward Camp Venom, Team Cobra hit a set back that presented them with quite a challenge. A Marine support vehicle broke down near a market place outside of Al Yusafiyah, a small town outside of Baghdad known as an extremist hot spot.

Halting in a communication dead zone, the convoy assumed a herringbone defensive posture. Unable to recover the vehicle or abandon it, a wrecker was the next best option. Single-Channel Ground-to-Air Radio System, even with the power amplifier, could not reach out of the communication dead zone surrounding the convoy. Even after raising one OE-254 Antenna, right there on the roadside, there was no answer.

This was the same dead space the RETRANS Team was going out to cover. Ironically, the RETRANS Team themselves needed a RETRANS Team because interference and terrain profile was too adverse. Posting two M113s and a Humvee with a mounted .50 Caliber M2 to secure the disabled vehicle, the RAU Team forged ahead to Camp Venom. Occupying Camp Venom by force, Team Cobra quickly established its LOS links. Soon the disabled vehicle was repaired and on location.

After Operation Desert Storm, Saddam converted Camp Venom from an Agricultural Extension Center of the University of Baghdad into an Infantry Training School for the Republican Guard Force. Using economy of force, 34 Soldiers and Marines could not occupy every building on the compound. Had the team done so, they would have been spread so thin that the site would have been undefendable.

Occupying smaller two-story buildings, M2 guard posts, perched on rooftops, overlooked the surrounding countryside. M113s interlocked with the M2s from the concealment of nearby trees. Covered by the buildings, RAU and RETRANS vehicles remained protected, while the antennas, bordering a wood line, received both concealment and a clear take-off angle.

Buildings outside the perimeter created a dangerous hazard. Hostiles could sneak into one of the buildings and launch an attack from only 100 meters away. Diligently working together, Team Cobra and the Marines cleared the buildings. Unable to permanently occupy the buildings, these clearing procedures were echoed from time to time. As each clearing team vacated, they planted trip flares to alert the camp of an intruder. By adjusting sectors of fire, the M113s observed all avenues of approach towards and behind the buildings.

At night, observation posts established in the buildings prevented the enemy from using the cover of darkness to gain entrance to them. During the day, Team Cobra dug foxholes, strung wire, and filled sandbags, because site defense is never complete. The Army Corps of Engineers helped by building berms, knocking down trees and triple stranding the site.

In order to stay fresh on the weapons systems, Team Cobra continued its weapons classes at Camp Venom. Turning one unoccupied building into a backdrop for a test fire range, every weapon system was verified on site. Soldiers routinely fired weapons including the M2, M240G, M9 and captured Iraqi AK-47s. Soldiers gained confidence on guard after rocking a building with an M2. Morale greatly improved after captured enemy AK-47s demonstrated terrible accuracy compared to the M16A4.

Like Hamburger Hill, Camp Venom became a combat zone. Sporadic gunfire from Iraqi assailants, rained down on the site, while M2s thundered back with overwhelming firepower. After the failure of one the Marine's M2s, PFC Juston Roney, RAU operator, rushed to the guard post and replaced the M2, unleashing a fury of gunfire from his M249 SAW. SGT Brian Lannon, RAU team chief, referred to the first few weeks as a "shooting gallery." Unable to dent the defenses, assailants turned to indirect fire. Following weeks of firefights, mortars punished the site from above, nearly destroying the camp's latrine. Adjusting defenses to match changing threat patterns, Team Cobra and the Marines of Camp Venom fought back. Marines conducted foot patrols and sent out sniper teams to intercept would be attackers. Team Cobra did its part, manning machine gun posts, clearing the buildings and occupying OPs. Leadership of the site changed stand-to in order to match 100 percent security with the most likely times of attack. During the first few weeks at Camp Venom, small arms fire prompted stand-to times from 2100 until 2300 hours. After the first month, most mortar attacks showered the site around 0300 hours. In response to the emerging threat, Soldiers went on stand-to from 0200 until 0500 hours.

Approaching the end of their deployment, 1st MEF was replaced by elements of the 82nd Airborne Division who chose not to occupy Camp Venom. 1st MEF pulled its Marine contingent from Camp Venom leaving Team Cobra unable to effectively secure the site any longer. Camp Venom closed as Team Cobra jumped to forwaed operations base Saint Michael, defended by the 82nd Airborne Division. For two months, Team Cobra held Camp Venom, extending vital command net and MSRT coverage for convoys traveling along ASR Sue, while braving mortar attacks and firefights, demonstrating that Signal Soldiers also make great fighters.

1LT Dave Humphries, a Texas native, served in Team Cobra for the last year as the LEN Platoon Leader. He has recently been assigned as the Battalion Signal Officer for 2-35 Armor Battalion in Baghdad, Iraq.

CPT Curtis Rhymer served as the Radio Platoon Leader for Team Cobra and currently is assigned as the Rear Detachment Commander for 141 Signal Battalion in Wiesbaden, Germany. He spent nine years enlisted as a tanker before transitioning to become a Signal Officer.

COPYRIGHT 2003 U.S. Army Signal Center
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group