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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Transportation is a key element in the
support of any military operation. Route clearance teams throughout
the U.S. Army have worked countless hours to ensure the safety and
functionality of various transport routes in many countries so that
safe transportation is possible.
The soldiers of Route
Clearance Platoon 31, Engineer Troop, Regimental Support Squadron,
Combined Task Force Dragoon, provide route clearance in support of
the task force's mission during Operation Enduring Freedom.
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U.S. Army Sgt. Flores with Engineer Troop, Regimental Support Squadron, Combined Task Force Dragoon, uses a lightweight, portable, handheld device called a goldie to detect IED components Aug. 7, 2013 at Kandahar, Afghanistan. Flores and his platoon conducted a route clearance package, a mission to ensure specified roads of travel are clear of IEDs. (U.S. Army
photo by Spc. Joshua Edwards)
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“We provide freedom of movement and maneuverability for
Combined Task Force Dragoon,” said 2nd Lt. Doug Palmer,
platoon leader for RCP 31, and native of Hebron, Conn.
“Specific to the route clearance mission, we have a couple
of vehicles. We have the buffalo, which is our main
interrogation asset and the husky, which is our main
detection asset.”
Teamwork is an integral part of the
platoon's attributes that contributes to mission success.
The team looks to protect assets within the task force, as
well as civilians in the local community.
“Part of
our daily brief is how to prevent civilian casualties,” said
Staff Sgt. Matthew Morin, also with the platoon and native
of Nicholasville, Ky. “We have really started coming
together as a platoon and we are starting to get it together
to where we know each other and how we're going to operate.
Things are running a lot smoother and I believe we are very
effective as a team.”
In Southern Afghanistan, the
enemy has become particular towards placing explosives
inside culverts. The areas provide the enemy with a way to
hide them underneath the road, where they cannot be seen by
U.S. forces or civilians.
“We know especially on the
(paved road), because they can't really dig through the
asphalt, they use culverts for hasty emplacements of IEDs on
routes,” said Palmer. “Its kind of the perfect scenario for
them: they can put it underneath the road and they don't
have to dig.”
There are various things the team
looks for when inspecting culverts. Everything from
explosives to the culverts just being tampered with in any
way are dealt with and documented to prevent repetitions of
the danger.
“When we go out we will clear what we
consider to be 10 percent of culverts on the route,” said
Palmer. “We checked the culverts for a few different things:
the presence of an IED, the presence of a culvert denial
system and whether or not its been tampered with or its
missing, and we go ahead and take pictures and send it up.”
The soldiers in the platoon have trained on numerous
occasions for the type of missions they are performing on an
almost daily basis and the noncommissioned officers
contribute to the background of success within the team.
“We have had about six months training up together, been
through a variant of field exercises and, overall, we have a
great team,” said Palmer. “The back bone of it is definitely
going to be my NCOs [noncommissioned officers]. I've got
great squad leaders and a great platoon sergeant.”
Even though the job may be slow and tedious, the troops stay
aware of the area around them and what they are looking for.
Patience may be the key to success during route clearance.
“Our job is really difficult and it wears on you
driving so slow,” said Morin. “They are always expecting
something to happen and always ready. It requires quite a
bit of patience and we are remaining focused on what's out
there. Every person knows their job. They're paying
attention to what they are doing and they keep situational
awareness around the entire convoy.”
The platoon is
ever motivated to do their job. The priority lies with
ensuring the routes are safe so that troops who are
traveling on them are doing so knowing they are safe.
“They are extremely motivated,” said Palmer. “It
definitely takes some drive and stamina and these guys show
it all. The biggest thing for us is keeping the routes clear
so the rest of the task force can complete their mission
without having to worry about the routes they are traveling
on.”
By U.S. Army Spc. Joshua Edwards
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2013
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