The Red Bulls

COB Basra - Some Soldiers in Red Bull Living Support Area awoke to slightly changed surroundings Saturday, Nov. 28th, as a few concrete barrier ‘T-walls’  tipped during the night and came to rest on their CHU (containerized housing unit).

“Between two and six a.m., there were three separate occurrences where T-walls fell onto four different housing units in the 34th Inf. Div.’s Soldier living area”, said Lt. Col. Steve Hanson, Contingency Operating Base Basra mayor.

 “No one was injured,” and “the incident is still under investigation,” said Hanson. 

A common site on COB Basra, T-walls are 17-foot, prefabricated, reinforced concrete barriers that provide protection from indirect fire. Each weighing approximately seven tons, T-walls are a relatively new addition to COB Basra and are an extensive upgrade to force protection made after taking over command of Basra from coalition soldiers.

The approach of winter in Iraq brings with it relief from soaring heat as moderate temperatures and often cloudy, rainy skies move in, but that may have contributed to the toppling of the handful of T-walls.

 “Initial indications show that T-walls may have risen due to trenches that were dug recently to bury underground electrical cable,” Hanson said. “The ground was softened due to the digging, as well as the soil composition, that was further weakened by the rain.”

 Once alerted of the incident the Red Bull LSA camp manager got cranes to the site and removed the T-walls that fell and immediately inspected the rest of the camp. The Soldiers who were affected where moved to the brand-new living areas Viking and Sandstorm.
“Thank goodness nobody was hurt,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Douglas Wortham, 34th DSTB BN command Sgt. Maj. “We are moving people as a precaution, for force protection issues and so they will have power while repairs are made.”

We are fortunate that the CHU’s were well built, he said.

“Camp managers and COB NCOIC’s were notified and asked to do a walk-around to verify the placement and condition of the walls in their area,” said Wortham. “The key areas to queue-in on were walls level up next to underground electrical trenches.”

Commanders and first sergeants are reviewing T-wall placements around base, and if Soldiers are at risk, they will be moved to the new LSA, said Hanson.

Location, distance from CHU’s, soil composition, soil compaction, rain drainage, and additional bracing techniques are being reviewed to develop new courses of action to mitigate instances of T-walls tipping over, Hanson said. 

If any Soldier sees a T-wall that is leaning or looks out of place they should report it to their LSA manager so it can be evaluated, he added.