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CNN Live At Daybreak

Interview of 1st Sgt. Scott Schroeder, 101st Airborne

Aired March 12, 2002 - 06:10   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: In Afghanistan this morning, Afghan forces are playing a bigger role in the fighting as U.S. troops pulled back.

Our Martin Savidge is with the U.S. Army troops in Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. He has more to tell us -- hello, Martin.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, Carol. Excuse me, I'm getting all choked up out here.

Operation Anaconda now in its 11th day, and they are making major movement on the ground, primarily due to the fact that they are using a lot of Afghan military forces. The U.S. coalition forces went in there, did the heavy fighting for the first 11 days, and that cleared the way for the Afghan military to go in. And they have seized two key areas. And it also means that a lot of those coalition forces, especially U.S., have been able to be freed up and returned to base.

First Sergeant Scott Schroeder is with the 101st Airborne. He was out there for 11 days. Is that right, sir?

1ST SGT. SCOTT SCHROEDER, U.S. ARMY: Yes, sir.

SAVIDGE: What was that like for you?

SCHROEDER: It's pretty intense. The first couple of days was very intense. After that, it slowed down and just sporadic pockets of resistance, a little bit of fighting besides that.

SAVIDGE: How did it feel to finally take an active role? I know the 101st has been here for sometime, but this was the first real combat mission for them in Afghanistan post September 11th. What was that like for you and your men?

SCHROEDER: I think everybody was looking forward to it, and we did -- they did a good job. The soldiers did a really good job when we hit the ground.

SAVIDGE: What's the morale like now with the men?

SCHROEDER: The ones that are coming back -- I still have a platoon left on the ground. Their morale is not real high right now. But everybody that's returned back to Bagram and are moving back down towards Kandahar, their morale is very high right now.

SAVIDGE: Yeah, I can vouch for that. If you're still out there, it would not be a happy thing. But if you're back here, it does feel good. How do you think that the men held up? For many of your men, this was the first time they had ever been in combat.

SCHROEDER: They did very well. They -- initially getting off, they were a little -- a little anticipation, but once they started receiving some fire from RPGs and some small arms, they reacted very quickly. They identified the enemy position, they found out that their marksmanship is a lot better than what the Afghani -- or not necessarily the Afghani, but the al Qaeda and Taliban...

SAVIDGE: You were in the Gulf War. How does this war compare to, say, that operation?

SCHROEDER: Well, I was a member of the 82nd, so I guess if I was a tanker, you know, in the Gulf War, it might have been the same. But here...

SAVIDGE: In the past 11 days you saw more action than the Gulf War?

SCHROEDER: Yes. Well it's much more close and personal. You could see the individuals that were shooting at you and their mortars coming in and the RPGs also.

SAVIDGE: How about a change in your men, change in their attitude, change in confidence?

SCHROEDER: I think they're a little bit more confident. They're more mature right now.

SAVIDGE: I'm sure they are. Sergeant Schroeder, thank you very much.

SCHROEDER: Thank you.

SAVIDGE: It was a pleasure talking to you. Glad you're back safe.

SCHROEDER: Thank you, sir.

SAVIDGE: Carol, a lot of these soldiers will only get a few days of rest, actually. There are more operations that are being planned and more military work for them to do. So for now, they come back, they rest, hot chow, maybe a shower, and get ready for the next one. Operation Anaconda did work very well in the eyes of many commanders. They believe that it will work as a model for future operations to mop up pockets of al Qaeda and Taliban that still exist here in Afghanistan -- Carol.

COSTELLO: They seem to be quite successful. Thank you, Martin Savidge, reporting live for us from Bagram Afghanistan this morning.

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