The Road to Safwan: The 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry in the 1991 ...

198 The Road to Safwan
airfield just as if nothing had happened, with an Iraqi captain
and a major in the cab of the vehicle. They seemed totally surprised
at the sudden appearance of the Americans and asked
the S3 if he knew that the squadron was in Iraq. He smiled and
replied yes, and told them they needed to leave the area and
asked them what unit they were from. The major smiled this
time and replied “Iraqi Army!” refusing to identify his unit. The
Iraqis then drove away in a state of confusion. 45
In CPT Mike Bills’s B Troop sector, a similar scenario played
itself out. He and a detachment of combat vehicles moved towards
the Iraqi defenses. Once close, the young captain dismounted
and approached some soldiers asking to see their
commander. Soon a lieutenant colonel arrived who, in broken
English asked, “Why are you in Iraq? Are you lost?” 46 Bills assured
him that was not the case and he was here to secure the
site for the cease-fire negotiations. The Iraqi commander told
his junior enlisted soldiers to leave and surrounded Bills with
about fifteen to twenty officers and senior soldiers. The Iraqi officer
then left to confer with his superiors. A short time later he
returned with additional soldiers, wearing the black leather
jackets, camouflage uniforms, and berets of Iraqi commando
units. 47 To Bills, the situation looked as though it had taken a
turn for the worse.
However, after a short, tense standoff, this Iraqi unit and all
of the others on the airfield received orders from their superiors
to leave. By 1200 the entire airfield complex was clear of
Iraqi troops. BG William Carter, the 1st Infantry Division’s Assistant
Division Commander for maneuver, flew to Wilson’s
location and discussed the new command arrangements, and
clarified some of the mission’s details. The brigade encircled
the airfield with a security zone of tanks and Bradleys. MAJ
Wimbish arrived early in the afternoon and set up the tactical
operations center on the northwest corner of the airfield. As
the squadron was consolidating around the western end of the
airfield, CPT Bills got an unexpected surprise. 2LT Lowndes
and his team finally linked up with B Troop. They were chagrined
to have missed out on the last two days of operations.
Bills recalled being told by Lowndes, “Sir, please don’t ever do
this to me again!” 48