Sky Soldiers dodge attacks, capture insurgent and save a child

LOGAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan - Paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team had an answer for insurgents who attempted an improvised explosive device attack in the Kherwar and Altimur area earlier this month.

The message to insurgents was loud and clear. Task Force Bayonet can quickly identify and swiftly move on IED attackers with lethal efficiency; not only saving an innocent child, who suffered shrapnel injuries, but also killing one IED trigger man, and capturing enemy forces possibly involved in the attack, all within minutes.

As Route Clearance Package personnel for Special Troops Battalion, 173rd ABCT cleared the way for the 173rd's Dark Horse's convoy, the troopers and combat engineers of this heavily relied upon RCP team encountered an IED.

U.S. Army Sgt. Theodore J. Vanover, team leader with the RCP, and U.S.  Army Spc. Markhale Young, another team leader in that same truck, spotted the triggerman of the IED moments after the explosion.  

"Young surprised me and the other NCOs (noncommissioned officers), because for being a relatively new trooper, perhaps not that used to situations like these, he jumped in there and took charge of the situation, helping our RCP team out considerably,” said Vanover, from Xenia, Ohio.

When the RCP team was driving along the route and encountered the first of three IEDs, Young said he spotted an insurgent wearing white clothes, dropping the detonating device.

“Upon dismounting immediately after the explosion, I notified my vehicle commander and my gunner, of the enemy forces I spotted, and let my team know that I was taking two Sky Soldiers with me and I told my team, I am going to capture this guy," said Young, native of Washington D.C.
     
“We went after him, and we received permission to do a soft knock search, clearing houses in the area, and that's when we found an injured little girl there, who had shrapnel wounds,” said Young. “We took immediate steps to provide her first aid and got her to FOB (Forward Operating Base) Shank, but she is doing fine now,” he said.

Young, an athletic and enthusiastic member of the 173rd ABCT, was decisive and impressive with his quick reactions and tenacity, Vanover said.

"I was very proud of Specialist Young. Not only did he identify the triggerman and lead a team that pursued the insurgent, but also he played a big part in rendering medical aid to the little girl we transported to FOB Shank," said Vanover.

 While Young and Vanover helped transport and accompany the little girl to FOB Shank for medical treatment, the troopers used their electronic tracking and radar devices within the RCP team vehicles to locate the insurgent, spotted by Young.

"I saw him drop the device and run the moment we dismounted," Young said.

U.S. Army Spc. Eric Helton, a Husky driver and ground base radar operator for the RCP team, part of A Company, Special Troops Battalion, 173 ABCT, said that being at the front of the convoy, his first reaction was to help verify and ensure everyone was all right.  

"At first, I was down on myself for having missed the IED, but I was glad with the overall outcome yesterday," said Helton, of Daingerfield, Texas.

For members of A Company, STB, 173rd ABCT, it was another busy day at the office. Not only did the RCP team encounter that IED, but also they located two additional IEDs that were pressure-plate-operated. The Sky Soldiers encountered three IEDs in the span of a few hours in one mission from Dark Horse's convoy at FOB Kherwar to FOB Altimur.  

In addition to a confirmed kill of one enemy, the team was also able to capture a prisoner, who was suspected of direct involvement in the attack.

Both Young and Vanover were among troopers who saw incoming rounds that were being aimed at them and their vehicle, so the fact that their RCP team members made it through the IED attack without sustaining injuries was remarkable.  On a regular basis, Army Soldiers and Sappers of A Company, STB, 173rd ABCT's route clearance package team face these kinds of IEDs, but it was especially rewarding knowing that this enemy's days of planting murderous explosives were brought to a just end.  

While insurgents might be stepping up efforts to bring on more attacks in the region, International Security Assistance Forces warriors like members of this RCP team are proving they can respond with immediacy.  

“The fact that this Army unit was able to come to the aid of an innocent child, who was an innocent bystander, made our day that more rewarding,” said Young.