Stephanie Croston

    After spending 15 months in Iraq, Sgt. Tim Hartmann is spending the holidays at home in Seward.
     Of course, he still has to make a trip to Germany to get his wife Christine before Christmas.
     Hartmann returned to the states from Iraq on Oct. 23 and has been working with the Army recruiter in Lincoln. He has been doing a lot of school visits and is the first combat veteran to do since 2004. He said just because a person joins the Army doesn't mean he or she will go to Iraq.
     "There's no better time than now to join the Army," he said.
     His current tour ends in 2010, and he will be in Germany until 2008. In Iraq, he was a tank commander attached to Teddy Roosevelt's battalion, the Blue Spaders.
     He arrived in Iraq in August, 2006, and his battalion was sent to Baghdad. The 400 to 600 battalion members were divided into smaller groups and have served with almost every division stationed in Iraq, Hartmann said. After the surge, they were assigned to the 82nd Airborne.
     They spent most of their time at Taji, an airbase about the size of Seward or about 20 square miles, he said. It's located approximately 10 miles from Baghdad, which is about a 30-minute drive.
     He said his battalion was only supposed to be deployed for eight or nine months.
     A typical day included two missions, at least one of which was a combat patrol. Hartmann said they would patrol sections of the city with orders to intercept possible insurgents.
     The platoon would get up at 4 a.m., attend a briefing, patrol until midafternoon, attend another briefing and spending time on weapon and vehicle maintenance.
     Maintenance included keeping the tracks tight, checking the oil, hoses and clamps in the engine and cleaning the turret. Each tank is worth approximately $2.5 million, he said.
     On the tank missions, they would patrol the highway, watching for people setting roadside bombs after the curfew.
     Hartmann said the temperature reached 120 to 130 degrees inside the 70-ton tank. The tank operates with a 1,500-horsepower jet engine that runs on diesel fuel. Its fuel cell holds 504 gallons, and the tank can go approximately 200 highway miles on one tank of diesel, he said.
     The top speed is 42 miles per hour on the highway, but the tanks go 20 to 25 mph when they are off-road. The tank is equipped with night vision and infrared to help its four-person crew see.
     Each tank includes a 30-ton turret that houses a 120-millimeter smoothbore that is used against bunkers, cars and trash cans, Hartmann said with a smile. Tanks are also equipped with impact rounds that can be set for ground or air impact, which allows the crews to shoot down helicopters and airplanes.
     Tank crews were testing a cannon round, shaped like a giant shotgun shell, but found it was bad for the inside of the gun tube, he said.
     Each tank commander is allowed a 50-caliber Browning, the same gun that has been used since the 1940s, and 100 rounds of armor-piercing incendiary ammunition, Hartmann said. The gun weighs 84 pounds, and the ammunition adds another 30 pounds.
     All four members of each tank crew carry M4 carbine rifles with 210 rounds and pistols with 45 rounds.
     As far as personal armor, Hartmann said soldiers wear 14-pound plates to cover the chest and back and 10-pound plates on each side, totalling 65 to 75 pounds of body armor.
     Each tank has a four-member crew-the driver, the loader, the gunner and the commander. The driver uses a motorcycle-like control to operate the tank and engine.
     The loader has the most room inside the tank, Hartmann said. His responsibilities include ammunition, supplies and the radio.
     Between the loader and the gunner is an area called the dead zone where the breach lands after firing. The gunner uses site panels to line up targets. The tank commander is behind the gunner and may override his targets, Hartmann said.
     Members of tank crews usually start as loaders or drivers and work their way up. The gunner is usually a sergeant and teaches and mentors the loaders and drivers. The commander is in charge of two tanks.
     Every tank has at least one crew member who is qualified to give IVs, Hartmann said.
     If the platoon found weapons on its patrols, it would label them and turn them over to the Iraqi police. Some were then reused, but others were melted down, Hartmann said. Much of what is found is old Soviet-made weaponry, he said.
     The insurgents are becoming more advanced in their attacks, he said, describing an explosive force projectile, which can be detonated remotely using a cell phone. The U.S. Army has created a device called Duke that scrambles radio waves to help prevent remote detonations.
     Some devices use heat sensors to detonate, so the Army uses a device called a rhino to find those, Hartmann said.
     The explosive ordinance detonation squad uses a robot called Johnny 5 to approach devices and "interrogate" them, he said.
     The platoon Hartmann is currently assigned to lost two soldiers in the first two weeks he was in Iraq, including the tank commander who was standing near Hartmann. In 2004, he was hit by shrapnel and during his deployments has had many close calls from improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
     During down time, most soldiers spend time in the gym, he said. They also take the opportunity to use the Internet and the telephone to contact their families.
     Living conditions were not always the highest quality, he said, especially in the combat outposts.
     "We lived in a blown up shopping center," he said. "For a long time we lived on cereal."
     Hartmann said he would prefer not to eat Frosted Flakes anymore.
     His platoon finally got air conditioning when they were sent to COP Callahan.
     He said people were generally cooperative and appreciate what the soldiers are doing. The situation has improved greatly since his first deployment.
     "When I was there the first last time, it was in bad shape," he said. "It improves daily."
     He said schools and hospitals are helping to make life better for the Iraqi people. Soldiers sometimes play soccer with the Iraqi children, as well, he said. The Americans, however, try to at least look more serious.
     "The more serious you look, the less they'll mess with you," Hartmann said.
     Hartmann helped with training for the Iraqi police on both deployments. In 2004, he said, two of eight Iraqi police officers would show up for training and shifts. This time, nine out of every 10 officers report. Hartmann said the U.S. soldiers taught the police how to shoot, how to clear a building and basic first aid.
     "The situation is getting better," he said.
     Hartmann said coverage of the war focuses on the bad things that have happened instead of the good that is being done. The Army Times is doing a four-part series on the battalion that has received the most awards, including a Medal of Honor nomination, since Vietnam.
     He described Iraq as a giant magnet for terrorists, but added that the U.S. presence is limiting terrorist activity.
     "Us being there prevents them from coming here," he said.
     Now that Hartmann has left Iraq, he has been stationed in Schweinfurt, Germany. His job there includes training and tank maintenance. His wife, Christine, is studying psychology and has three to four years of schooling left.
     He said the area is a lot of farmland and wine country. It's a couple hours to the Alps from his home, he said. The weather in that area of Germany is similar to the weather here. He said there are breweries everywhere, and the beer has been made the same way since the 1500s.
     Hartmann has driven on the autobahn, which does have a speed limit of 80 kilometers per hour, although most drivers ignore it.
     "You never see a cop unless there's an accident," he said.
     An open house is planned for the Hartmanns at the Seward VFW Club from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 30. Hartmann has to be back in Germany by Monday, Jan. 7, for work.