I asked because I know a thing or two about checkpoints at that time. I was in 4th ID in Iraq in 2003 - 2004 and 1st 'CAV in 2004 - 2005.
Honestly, it doesn’t look like you gave enough space for a Bradley checkpoint. But it really depends. With the guardhouse, this kind of looks like an entry control point (ECP), not a checkpoint. So you could have a Bradley blocking it entirely but I can’t say that I ever saw a Bradley stationed in this manner. If the purpose is to let vehicles enter and turn right or left, there’s just not enough space without moving the Bradley - a lot. This really depends on the context.
Unit SOP’s vary, but I’d say that I’d never have the side of my hull facing the checkpoint. Some checkpoints got a TON of traffic, so blocking it this way would mean constantly driving forward or backward depending on where the drivers would turn. That would mean that you would lose oversight and control of the checkpoint (or ECP). An ECP or a checkpoint is manned differently than if you’re trying to completely block access to the road. If your purpose is to block all traffic, then the Jersey barriers need to block all road access much further out.
Iraq in 2003 was the wild west. The infrastructure wasn’t really there. The 3rd ID was told not to pack any cold weather or winter gear because it would be over before Christmas. A couple of their brigades were loading at the ports to go home around August/September when they were told to unload and go back and fight the insurgency. Initially, there weren’t any real plans for long term occupation.
I say this because, depending on the context, I’d say the Jersey barriers may not be appropriate. Most roadside checkpoints at that time consisted of strands of staked-in concertina wire and crude signs directing traffic. If the Bradley is guarding an ECP to a company or battalion FOB sometime in the fall of 2003 when the U.S. Army started to settle in to the country for the long haul, then the Jersey barriers are good, but you should re-position them.
Someone in here may have very detailed first hand knowledge of 3rd ID checkpoint SOPs or FOB designs in those early days. Like I said, it was the wild west because no one imagined we’d be doing checkpoints prior to the invasion so every unit had its own ideas of how to run them based on the materials on hand.
If you want to switch your Bradley to a unit in the 4th ID, I could offer much more specific advice.
And I didn’t even have to say “No Sh!t, there I was…” or “Once upon a time…”
Of course Travis is correct. Jersey barriers did not start to arrive until 2004. Prior to that you wouldn’t see any. However, after that, they could be used in conjunction with whatever could be scrounged up, including rocks. Part of what I documented was the design of various checkpoints we went through.
You’re right and your’e explanations make absolute sense to me.
But unfortunately I only have limited space and have to make a few compromises.
So it is just a checkpoint for pedestrias. I have figures in relaxed positions, there is a block where nothing is happening.
At first, I thought about a diorama in size 80 x 40 cm. But is is too big for my small cellar room.
Because I need the space for my other dios.
So, I have to go this compromise.
Little inspiration.1/72 dio I did for my cousin’s stint at Balad. Skull and ice axes are his unit marking ( 172nd Mountain Infantry, New England NG, attached to an MP battalion) Mike said the only errors were the street was too clean and I did not get ! the stink. (told him to send it back to me and I’d put a couple cat turds behind the walls!)
Thanks for taking it under consideration. Since you’re doing a pedestrian checkpoint, then I would at least close off the whole road and create a choke point with concertina wire along with a holding area for pat downs/inspections away from the guard shack.
