Dispatch from Iraq: Finding a way around the bridge at Ramadi
Dispatch from Iraq: Finding a way around the bridge at RamadiBy Sgt. Gary Underhill Al-Asad Air Base, Iraq, Oct. 27, 11:02 a.m. There is a monstrous four-lane concrete and steel reinforced bridge that spans the Euphrates River between the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi in central Iraq. Two weeks ago, a suicide bomber drove a truck loaded with 10,000 pounds of explosives onto the eastbound span and detonated it. It blew a hole roughly the size of a football field in the eastbound span, and significantly damaged the westbound span, sending what was left of them both into the river below.For the U.S. military, the Ramadi Bridge served as a crossing point for convoys transporting troops and materials out of the country as part of the overall draw down in Iraq. That all changed when an insurgent blew himself up.This mission would be the first to have to bypass the bridge and find a new way around it. During our convoy brief in Kuwait, the gun truck squad leader, Staff Sgt. Greg Sanchez, said that there was an alternate way around the bridge but that we would have to