BAGHDAD - Pfc. Sam Angert, a mortar man from Brooklyn, N.Y., assigned to C Troop, 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, steers the M1064A3 mortar carrier into place before his fellow Soldiers fire high-exp...

BAGHDAD - Spc. Randy Sites (left), from Rising Sun, Md., communicates with Spc. Gordon Brooks from Tucson, Ariz., as they prepare to fire their first mortar since arriving in Iraq six months ago at Joint Security Station Istaqlaal, here. Both Soldier...

BAGHDAD - Tucson, Ariz. Spc. Gordon Brooks (right), gets ready to drop a high-explosive (HE) round into a mortar tube as Spc. Randy Sites (left), from Rising Sun, Md., prepares to duck down during a fire mission exercise at Joint Security Station Ist...

BAGHDAD - "This knocked the dust off, you know, to make sure we're still doing what we know how to do," said Spc. Gordon Brooks, a mortar man from Tucson, Ariz., assigned to C Troop, 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Ca...