Rooftop security by Christopher Barker
A fire team from the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Ft. Wainwright, Alaska, sit in an over watch position atop a house in the outskirts of Mosul, Iraq in 2006. The threat of snipers forced these soldiers to sit on chairs to reduce their silhouettes and their possibility of being targeted, while covering other soldiers moving from building to building on the ground looking for terrorists and possible caches of weapons.
Mosul, Iraq
Circa 2006
Comments
Incredible work. Those boots in the foreground, are they yours?
Thanks Helen. Yes those are my boots in the foreground.
what an amazing image – just love the viewpoint!
Thanks Paul that means a lot. I appreciate your comment.
A powerful picture. I’m not even sure why.
Thank you Craig
this could be my sundeck. except it isn’t. i think that’s why it’s so powerful.
Now thats some view, great work :)
How long did they sit that way Chris?
Well this was probably the 30th house we just finished clearing, so we took a 10 minute breather to pull security from the rooftop for another squad. I told them to pull up the chairs. It reduced their chance of getting picked off by snipers as well.
– Christopher Barker
But in general I mean – how long are the shifts? I’m trying to get a sense of what it must feel like to sit in a chair like that with a gun in your hand for xx hours. It’s just intriguing, frightening and so damn disturbing all at once.
Well the key is to never stay in one spot too long, you’ll compromise your security. Generally though we were out on the streets patrolling 2-3 times per day for approx. 6 hours per shift. It starts to wear on you for sure.
– Christopher Barker