A good day turns bad: local National Guard unit attacked in Iraq

Contributed photo Sgt. Joshua Lee Chenault, 24, and Spc. Joshua Baugh, 24, both of Bloomington, and Sgt. 1st Class Spencer Kohlheim, 37, LaGrange, members of the 1st Platoon of Alpha Company of the 1st/151st Infantry Battalion -- based in Linton -- stand in front of the truck which was struck by an IED near Kirkuk, Iraq.

Contributed photo Soldiers of First Platoon of Alpha Company of the 1st/151st Infantry Battalion based in Linton.

Soldiers of First Platoon of Alpha Company of the 1st/151st Infantry Battalion based in Linton were escorting a team of Army heavy transports on a five-day mission to deliver one of the military's safest vehicles to an outlying post where U.S. soldiers help train the Iraqi Army.

This is still Iraq. It's amazing how quickly a good day can turn bad.

"We were just driving down the road," said Specialist Joshua Baugh, 24, of Bloomington, the turret gunner in the lead truck, "and next thing I hear a boom, and I saw a flash on the right side. The windows on my turret spider-webbed."

Baugh fell back from the force of the blast.

"Baugh, Baugh, are you OK?" said Sgt. Joshua Lee Chenault, 24, the truck commander and a childhood friend of Baugh's from Bloomington.

Contributed photo The scene moments after the IED exploded. [Click to enlarge]

Baugh signaled that he was.

"When the dust cleared, I saw my antennae flopping over and I realized we had been hit," Chenault said.

The driver of the lead vehicle, Sgt. First Class Spencer Kohlheim, 37, of LaGrange, was most concerned about getting them out of the kill zone quickly.

"I just remember dropping it in first gear and pushing it as hard as I could," Kohlheim said.

But the truck was smoking and losing fluids.

"I was in shock," said Sgt. Chenault who got out to set up perimeter security. "It all happened so fast all you had time for was just to react. After things had settled down, I just kept looking for suspicious people and there were cars coming up from our nine o'clock down a little alley. I wasn't going to let anyone around us."

He raised his M-4 rifle until they backed away.

Down the convoy line, the Indiana Humvees moved into defensive positions. Gunners scanned the second story buildings. They knew the very real risks of a secondary blast or sniper attack. For some, it was the first real test of their National Guard training.

Convoy commander, Staff Sgt. Christopher Mikiska, 27, of Vincennes , juggled communication with all of his vehicles and with the battalion base. Choppers were in the air in minutes to provide the team with cover. Specialized Army support units moved in to detain possible suspects.

Soldiers said they saw a man in a white car "flip them off" seconds before the blast detonated from the right side of the road.

Soon Sgt. 1st Class Kohlheim was running down the road with his rifle ready despite suffering from obvious symptoms of a concussion.

"Some other drivers said they saw individuals off to the side, running into the building where the car went," Kohlheim said. "That's when I ran up and got some Iraqi Army and Iraqi police guys who were there."

"Can we go get them (the suspects)?" Spc. Steven Hollifield, 24, of Sullivan, asked Staff Sgt. Mikiska.

"My boys were all infantry, so they want to take part in finding who did it," Mikiska said. "At the same time we got to pull security on all the vehicles. It's hard to call another infantry element to be quick reaction force for you, but that's what you have to do."

Medic Specialist Craig Witt, 34, of Indianapolis tended to at least five soldiers who were experiencing signs of a concussion. Witt tried to get Kohlheim to sit down and rehydrate, but Kohlheim was too stubborn.

Meanwhile Sgt. Curt McCrary, 27, of Sullivan coordinated air surveillance from his vantage point at the end of the convoy. It paid off. The chopper spotted the white car parked beside a nearby house.

Several hours passed before First Platoon and the Army's 104th transport company were able to load the downed 5-ton and move their convoy to the safety of FOB Warrior.

"I think we all got our melons scrambled a little bit," Sgt. 1st Class Kohlheim said the morning after spending a night in the FOB Warrior hospital for evaluation. "This morning I woke up and I remembered everything. Last night I couldn't remember too much."

"I'm ready to go back out," Spc. Baugh said defiantly. "After that happens it really makes you mad. I know that not everyone in Iraq's to blame, but sometimes it kind of makes you feel that way. It really makes you think about life."

Military public affairs confirmed that at least two suspects were detained.

Jim is a freelance journalist and writer embedded in Iraq with the 76th Brigade Combat Team of the Indiana National Guard (The Nighthawks).