Southern Nevada soldier wounded

Thursday, July 3, 2003 | 9:28 a.m.

A Southern Nevada soldier, wounded in an ambush in northeast Baghdad Friday, was in serious but stable condition today, a spokeswoman for the Nevada Army National Guard said.

"He is alert and was talking to his battalion commander," said Air Force 1st Lt. April Conway, spokeswoman for the state's Army and Air National Guard. "There were one to five other Southern Nevada guard members who were injured in the attack, but they were treated at the scene."

Conway said the name of the seriously wounded soldier, who is with the 72nd Military Police Company, was not immediately available for release. She would confirm only that the soldier is a male and that he lives in Southern Nevada. She said his family has been notified of his injuries.

"He was in a deuce-and-a-half (military jargon for a 2 1/2-ton transport truck) on a convoy apparently from the base camp to the northeast section of Baghdad, where they can use phones to call home," Conway said.

"We don't know what kind of artillery was fired at them, but it blew up the truck," Conway said. "He was (sent) to a hospital in Germany and late yesterday was en route to Walter Reed (Army Medical Center) in Washington D.C."

Conway said the soldier will undergo surgery to the left side of his body. After recovery, he will go to Fort Lewis, Wash., then home to Southern Nevada to recover from his wounds, she said.

About 120 soldiers from the 72nd, a unit that primarily guards prisoners of war and performs other police duties, are in Iraq. They left the Henderson Armory headquarters in February for additional training at Fort Lewis.

About 50 soldiers from the Nevada Guard's 777th Engineer Company also are in Iraq, Conway said.

Another 300 members of the Nevada Air National Guard have been called up and are scheduled to serve two 45-day rotations somewhere in Southwest Asia possibly in August, Conway said.