Idaho reservists honored for wounds received in Iraq

In February, on patrol in one of Iraq’s most war-ravaged provinces, Staff Sgt. Jacob Kammers had a premonition his life might change very fast. Assigned to the Idaho 321st Engineer Battalion, the 28-year-old platoon sergeant was taking his team back to the same spot that twice before had harbored a roadside bomb.

The Otis Orchards reservist had the feeling that there was going to be a roadside bomb in the same spot a third time. But that’s what the battalion is there to do. Other troops avoid roadside bombs; the 321st’s job is to “excavate” bombs – detonate them.

This time the bomb exploded before they were ready.

“It was the most violent thing you can imagine happening,” said Kammers, one of three members of the Bravo Company of the 321st honored Saturday with Purple Heart medals and promotions for injuries suffered in their tour of duty.

The estimated 150 pounds of explosive in the third blast left Kammers with a concussion, a damaged spine and foot, and other injuries. It could have been worse, but he and another member of the platoon were inside a Buffalo, a heavily armored vehicle designed to dig down and detonate roadside bombs.

Also decorated during the ceremony at the battalion’s North Idaho center in Hayden were Staff Sgt. Eric Stroh and Staff Sgt. William Meyers, both 34. All three received medals, along with promotions to sergeant first class, presented by Lt. Gen. Jack Stultz, Chief of the Army Reserve.

Stroh and Kammers were part of about 350 members of the 321st deployed to Iraq last summer. They, along with Meyers, were assigned to the Ramadi area in Al Anbar province west of Baghdad. That area has seen some of Iraq’s fiercest fighting in the past year.

Stroh, also an Idaho State Police trooper, suffered a crushed leg and broken fingers in a roadside bomb blast in fall 2006. Meyers, who lives in Boise and is assigned to the 321st’s Alpha Company, was wounded in a winter 2006 bomb attack.

Before pinning the medals on the men’s chests, Stultz praised them as exemplars of Army Reserve citizen-warriors. “I want you to understand that those three men are part of the next greatest generation of our country,” said Stultz.

The 321st, with about 700 troops, is expected to remain in Iraq until this fall. Stultz noted during the ceremony that the Boise-based battalion “has received a lot of hits, but it’s making a big difference. They go out and clear the roads so that the Marines can go in and hold the area.”

Violence in Al Anbar has dropped noticeably in recent months, he said, due to the combined efforts of U.S. forces and the Iraqi military. So far, the 321st has seen five members killed and several dozen wounded. Stultz said the battalion has earned 42 purple hearts and has 30 yet to be handed out.

Stroh said he was on patrol with his platoon in October 2006 near Ramadi when the bomb detonated. He and another member of the platoon were wounded in the attack. Stroh’s injuries are the most extensive of the three men honored Saturday. He remains on active duty as long as doctors continue medical treatment, which might take several more months, he said.

At some point Stroh wants to resume working as a state trooper. “I hope so, at least whenever the doctors say I’m healed enough,” he said.

Kammers has been reassigned from the Idaho battalion to the Spokane-based 104th Division’s drill sergeant unit. His job now will be training new reservists. He plans to resume work with his Spokane employer, Arrow Construction, added Kammers.

Morale and spirit among U.S. troops in Al Anbar is very strong, he said.

“We’re making a lot of progress,” he said. “People are walking down the streets in Ramadi. You see them moving around. They don’t fear being attacked. We get a good feeling knowing we’re helping that happen.”