CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq – Deployments can be an exciting time for some and a hardship for others, depending on the mission, length and scope of their deployment.
York, Pa., resident Spc. Ronald Gambrell, currently deployed to COB Adder, Iraq, with Company A, 628th Aviation Support Battalion, is on his third deployment.
Inspired by his foster father who served in Vietnam, Gambrell enlisted in the Tennessee Army National Guard at age 17, on the very day the Iraq War began in 2003. After choosing the military occupation specialty of cannon crewmember Gambrell was assigned to a Field Artillery unit.
His first deployment was to Al Anbar province, Iraq in 2005. While deployed, his unit pulled convoy security and Gambrell manned the .50 caliber weapons mounted on the gun trucks to protect the convoy. Gambrell traveled as far north as the Syrian border and as far south as Tallil, where he is stationed today.
Traveling the roads throughout Iraq, Gambrell witnessed many enemy attacks. One particularly bad experience for him was an event that occurred after Ramadan. A truck ahead hit an improvised explosive device while another was hit with a rocket-propelled grenade. His own truck was hit with small arms fire. The event drove home how dangerous the roads were in Iraq.
While at his base camp Gambrell had a room in the housing trailers, and while on the road he slept in tents. He spent 15 months in Iraq and was not able to call home very often since the conditions for Soldiers were much different than they are today. He also helped set up cement barriers in the streets and around buildings to aid in security during the Iraqi elections. While deployed, Gambrell switched duties and became a motor transport operator.
In June 2007, Gambrell began his second deployment to Iraq. He would spend one year in country. This time his mission was very different. His unit performed detainee operations, which involves the care and supervision of prisoners. Not only did his unit provide shelter and medical care for their prisoners, they also promoted counter insurgency ideals in an attempt to reverse the radical ambitions of their prisoners. The goal was to teach the prisoners alternatives to violence while reminding them the United States is not an enemy of Islam, in the hopes that radical elements in the country would lose their persuasive hold on the people.
His unit was also responsible for ensuring prisoners arrived for court dates and performing inspections of the compound, which they shared with the Navy. While Gambrell was not out facing hazards on the road as before, mortar attacks on his camp were a regular event. This deployment proved a different sort of challenge for Gambrell. After one prisoner escape and a massive riot in his camp, the differences became more evident.
Gambrell moved from Tennessee to York, Pa., in 2008 and joined the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. He was assigned to Company A, 628th Aviation Support Battalion. The 628th ASB was mobilized in February 2009. On this deployment Gambrell has spent his entire time inside the camp, using his experience to assist his unit. The truck platoon of the 628th ASB has been hauling storage and shipping containers, housing trailers for Soldiers and cement security barriers around COB Adder. Gambrell said conditions for the Soldiers this deployment, including internet access available in most rooms, make being away from home a bit easier. Performing a support mission within the relative safety of camp is much different than his previous deployments and Gambrell sees this as a positive change in the country. He feels the country is much safer than it was before and the many local nationals working on the camp are a sign to Gambrell that the locals show support for the U.S. and other nations helping to build their country and provide security.
Gambrell has experienced Iraq as a driver on the road who got hit almost nightly by attacks, as a caretaker for prisoners who provided them an alternative message to violence, and finally as a support Soldier aiding in the expansion of COB Adder and its facilities. Gambrell has seen many changes in Iraq and he feels they are positive and encouraging. If his deployments are a testament to the direction Iraq is taking these days, it would seem life here continues to improve.
After this deployment ends, Gambrell plans to remain in Pennsylvania with his wife, and he would like to stay in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard for a full 20-year service to earn his retirement.
