Staff Sergeant Patrick J Henry

Staff Sergeant Patrick J. Henry

Early one morning at Camp Cedar II, Iraq a radio call came in to the Base Defense Operations Center (BDOC). One of the guard towers reported that three local nationals (LNs, as we called them, or Iraqis) were seen attempting to cross the razor wire on the Camp's perimeter. When spotted, the LNs fled. I alerted the Base Defense Force (BDF - a quick reaction force) of the attempted breach. They spun up immediately and headed toward the main road outside of Camp Cedar II.

By the way, we learned this lesson rather slowly. In the past, we sent the BDF to the interior to protect the Camp from the breach and to capture anyone who entered the Camp perimeter. The problem with this is that the LNs simply had to re-cross the razor wire and flee. By the time the BDF drove around to the other side of the fence, the LNs were long gone.

The BDF NCOIC (Non-commissioned Officer In Charge) was Staff Sergeant (SSG) Patrick J. Henry (distantly related to his namesake). He is everyone's idea of an "old school" Sarge. He is no-nonsense, gruff, occasionally profane, but always fair. As a teen he moved in with his grandparents to help care for them. He actually raised himself in many ways. He worked, attended school, and farmed. He loves his parents and his most frequently discussed goal upon returning home from Iraq was to take his father hunting. SSG Henry served in Iraq before - during Desert Storm.

As the BDF exited the gate at Camp Cedar II they frequently reported their whereabouts to me. I alerted our Battalion that our perimeter may have been breached and that our BDF was in pursuit of the LNs. The BDF told me that they spotted the LNs running to a vehicle on Main Supply Route (MSR) Tampa (the main North-South road in Iraq). The BDF was in hot pursuit. Staff Sergeant Henry called me to request permission to pursue the LNs until captured. He told me later that he feared I would call off the pursuit and the LNs would get away again. Our Battalion set unrealistic limits on our BDF - they could only go so far and then were called back. I told him to continue the pursuit until capture. That was all he needed to hear. SSG Henry told me that as his driver was pursuing the LNs he told the driver that if he slowed down he would shoot him! (I'm pretty sure that he was only joking). The BDF reported that they were lagging behind the vehicle. I encouraged them to catch up. I feared they would lose them. But SSG Henry's vehicle caught up with the vehicle driven by the LNs, bumped them, and forced them off the road. The three BDF vehicles boxed them in and captured them. They searched them, cuffed them, and brought them back to Camp Cedar II. During the pursuit the Battalion told me that they were sending a patrol to head off the LNs from the North. I prayed that our BDF would be the ones to capture them! They did. The Battalion patrol got to the location of the capture after the fact and I requested that they secure the vehicle. I loved it! Our Battalion, the 134th BSB, had this idea that they, a non-combat support unit, were the only "heroes" in theater and made sure that the 214th Field Artillery (a real combat unit - my unit) only played a support role to their heroics. Since they were in charge of us - what they assigned us to do, we had to do.

SSG Patrick J Henry and the 214th FA Base Defense Force at Camp Cedar II, Iraq

I called Battalion to report the capture and to see where they wanted us to transport the LNs. That's when my worst moment at Camp Cedar II began. I was ecstatic that our BDF had made such a heroic capture so successfully. However, the Battalion, and later, my own Battery command, began picking apart the efforts of our BDF and Tower Guards. The Battalion first wanted a detailed report of the entire incident, including timelines, etc. I pulled that together and some of the details (that only emerge after the fact) differed from the original Spot Reports (that are merely immediate reports based upon information that came in up to that point). As my Battery command came into the BDOC, the scene changed from one of revelry to an inquisition. The Tower Guard was grilled about his reaction to the attempted breach. He had fired a warning shot and was criticized for not reporting it immediately. Next, the BDF was grilled on their actions. Had they gone too far? Did they mistreat the LNs? What had been a moment of triumph quickly turned into a mass of interviews, reports, and justifications. Is this not what is wrong with our "New Army"? No wonder our guards are not quick to respond or to report incidents as they happen. I thanked the BDF anyway and made sure that SSG Henry and his team knew that they had done a great job. We talked about the incident later and knew we had all done a great job - our command never thanked anyone on the team for their excellent capture.

The BDF had other great captures and close calls. They cordoned off IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices), set up security for the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) when unexploded rockets were located on Camp Cedar II, and set up road blocks to capture insurgents running from Coalition Forces. The BDF was not always so efficient. When we first arrived at Camp Cedar II, the 134th BSB was in charge of the BDF. They resented being sent out on what they considered to be "wild goose chases" by the 214th FA (my unit ran the BDOC). When we called them, it took about 15 minutes for them to respond typically. When the 214th took over the BDF we cut the response time down to less than five minutes! Perimeter breaches were almost non-existent after the 214th took over and many other enemy actions were reduced to almost zero with the 214th FA in charge.

As the 214th prepared to leave Iraq, we had an award ceremony. I fully expected the BDF, and SSG Henry in particular, to be honored for their actions. But neither SSG Henry nor the BDF received awards that day. Awards were given to many people, mostly administrative types, but the BDF remained seated that day. SSG Henry put his team in for awards, I know that for a fact. Perhaps they will come later - the Army can be slow. But keep in mind that all our awards have to be approved by our Battalion first - well maybe they won't be coming after all. In any case, thank you, Staff Sergeant Patrick J. Henry and your Base Defense Force team for a job well done. (14 June 2007)~GJH~