Spc. L.B. Edgar, 7th Mobile Public Affairs DetachmentMANSOUR, Baghdad — Perched in a crow’s nest with a .50-caliber machinegun at an arm’s length, the Soldier scans the unforgiving streets of Baghdad for insurgents intent on disrupting the peace.
For Pfc. Tyrell Mankaja, a security element member who spends the majority of his day and night seated with eyes peeled on his sector, this is just a typical day at Joint Security Station Mansour in the Jamia neighborhood of the Mansour district, where home seems all too far away.
A vehicle-borne explosive device detonated at an Iraqi army checkpoint nearby. The attack illustrated the real threat, which lies dormant outside the Joint Security Station on many days, but awakes to attack coalition forces or Iraqi security forces at random.
Such is the threat Mankaja, a native of Beach Springs, Ariz., guards JSS Mansour against.
(PHOTO: Pfc. Tyrell Mankaja, a security element member of the Mortar Platoon of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, checks the streets of Jamia for enemy activity while guarding Joint Security Station (JSS) Mansour in Baghdad’s Mansour district. The JSS houses U.S. and Iraqi army troops, who are able to respond quickly to threats and work closely with the people of the area. U.S. Army photo by Spc. L.B. Edgar, 7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.)
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