Rock Painting Therapy by Robert P. Chappell Jr

Author:Robert P. Chappell, Jr.
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781662909290
Publisher: Gatekeeper Press

LTC Chappell on a mission in Tal Afar, Iraq

Of great difficulty was determining the threat along the highways in Iraq. The roads in Iraq were not maintained like they are in America. Major roads were rudimentarily paved to Iraq standards; however, shoulders were dirt and not maintained. The unmaintained shoulder portions of the highways were usually littered with debris, trash, disabled or abandoned vehicles, burned-out cars, rocks, abandoned military vehicles ravaged by war, and other potential distracting threats.

Explosive devices, therefore, could appear as garbage, placed in a parked or abandoned vehicle, or even be buried in the dirt beneath the surface of the road. Coalition forces were successful with daily sweeps using vehicles that could detect metal objects buried; however, there were too many roads and not enough of these vehicles to get all bombs. The end result was the loss of coalition lives.

Explosive objects were frequently thrown at convoy vehicles from buildings, off of rooftops, and over walls. Individuals seen on a rooftop with a cellphone could be an innocent Iraqi civilian or they could very well be a lookout advising someone down the road, with a trigger-type or timed bomb device that a convoy was en route. Seldom was there a way to distinguish between those who intended you harm and those who did not, until it was too late.

The worst insurgent tactic was booby-trapping bodies. Coalition forces were known for not wanting to leave killed soldiers behind; thus, insurgents, given the opportunity, would booby-trap bodies with explosives. Unsuspecting forces who returned to retrieve booby-trapped bodies would be injured or killed by the blast of these trap devices.

From the ground-level road to the tops of buildings, everything was a potential threat; however, IED’s were not the only tool in the insurgent toolbox. They also used suicide bombers. The bulk of suicide bomb attacks were against softer targets, such as Iraqi civilians, civilian community gathering events, police stations, and police training locations. Other targets included Iraq military recruiting stations and training bases. The hard military targets most often included Iraqi checkpoints on roads, borders, and bases.

Insurgent suicide bombers used multiple techniques and tactics. Suicide bombers usually had bombs strapped to their persons. As they approached their target they would detonate. I am personal witness to the aftermath of devastation and destruction an insurgent fighter can do when they set off such a device.

I was assigned to the 3rd Iraqi Army as a part of a military transition team (MITT). On one occasion in March of 2006, our post was struck by a suicide bomber who detonated a bomb, killing thirty-five people and wounding thirty-two Iraqi Army recruits. The human carnage was unbelievable. I remember thinking to myself that I could not believe how a human being was capable of doing something of that magnitude and destruction.

My sharing of convoy experiences brings me to the title of this chapter, combat scanning. Combat scanning is what every person in a convoy was assigned to do. It didn’t make any difference whether you were the gunner, driver, or passenger.

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