Letter home

Comments are mine...

"Yesterday is a good example of what I do everyday."

"It was rainy and dark, and the fog was really heavy and thick. It was dark and I couldn't see with lights or my thermal vision (comment - thermal vision has to have temperature variation for the goggles to work). We got up that morning at 5 am - well before light. That gave me only about 4 hours of sleep the night before."

SnowandFog

"We had to escort a bunch of Benzene trucks in a convoy going north. There were a lot of them and it took a few hours to get them where we wanted to take them. That was an easy job. We just drive for this and I wasn't a driver on that trip, I was a dismount (comment - dismounts are the guys who get off the vehicle if there's trouble).

"After we dropped the trucks off we headed back to Rabeaa, but we had to stop and check in at four towns on the way back. It was boring at first since I was just staying on the truck. The last village we stopped in I finally got out. We walked through the town and went to the "boss's" house. which is usually the nicest house in the entire village. We go in, listen to his complaints and tell him what we will do about it. Then we are served tea (chi) and then talk to them for a little while. Its OK - boring but OK. Usually I stay with the truck and we talk to the kids. That's a lot more fun and it makes the time go fast."


"We've been shot at a few times, and no I personally haven't shot anyone, usually as driver I just watch and actually one time I made some Kool-Aid while bullets pinged and zinged overhead. Knew the guys would be thirsty when they finished their work."

Graphic Story from Mosul

"Out on the street, the soldiers conducting that day’s search worked a neighborhood that, by Mosul standards, was affluent.

Many of the homes were opulent — with two, sometimes three stories, walled gardens, spacious though sparsely furnished rooms. Nevertheless, it’s a tough neighborhood. Delta Company, pulling perimeter security this day, had its first man killed just up the road. It happened late last summer, a roadside bomb.

On Dec. 28, Charlie Company, the same company searching the homes today, got into its only close-combat firefight in a house that they would revisit this day. So everyone knew it was a tough neighborhood.

Late that December night, based on intelligence from what is referred to here as “another government agency,” men from the company burst into the house .

As they pushed open a bedroom door, a burst of AK47 fire downed Staff Sgt. Gerald Bailey with a neck wound. Right behind Bailey, Sgt. Joseph R. Kramer, 28, of Pittsburgh, emptied a magazine from his M4 into the room, then flipped in a grenade, killing a man and woman. Kramer pushed his way into the next bedroom and was jumped by a knife-wielding man. Both fell to the floor, Kramer fending off knife jabs.

“Get this f---ing guy off me,” he shouted.

Sgt. Ronald Wooten, 30, of Farmington, N.M., stuck his M4 against the Iraqi’s head and fired. For that night’s work, both men have been awarded Bronze Stars for valor, and a Silver Star is pending for Kramer."

Road Side Bomb

About 10:50 a.m. Saturday, troopers from the Stryker Brigade's 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment found a roadside bomb while on patrol in Bajar, west of Mosul. The device was fashioned with five 155 mm artillery shells. Army Engineers destroyed it.

A 155 is the largest artillery munition used by Iraq. A direct hit by a projectile of this type is powerful enough to totally destroy a three-bedroom rambler. This improvised device had five 155 mm artillery shells incorporated in it's construction. Had the Iraqi insurgents been able to explode this device it would have caused considerable damage and loss of life.

The kids unit is stationed in north-western Iraq, in the area just west of Mosul. Elements of his Regiment found and destroyed this improvised explosive device.

The Words of a Soldier

This was sent to me and I forwarded it on to his girl. She called me, said it brought tears to her eyes. It's really something when someones words so completely fill out anothers own thoughts. I knew when I sent it that she would call - and she did.

By the time you read this letter I'll be gone.
I'm not the man I was when I left home.
By the time you see my face I will have aged.
Much more than the passing of the days.
This many miles might as well be the moon.
It's a desolate place and I'm missing you.
My heart can't believe what my eyes they have seen
God knows what's pulling us thru.

In a world gone insane I whisper your name

and I'm missing you...

Mountains of Northern Iraq

Yes, there are mountains in Northern Iraq. And yes, they are snow capped in the winter. Looking at this photo you might think you're on the plains of Colorado or Wyoming

Northern Iraq

Traffic Accident

The letters from our Soldier are few and far between and actually don't always come to us in date order all the time. Having said that here is a description of a little incident that happened back in December in the city of Samarra. Our son drives a Stryker, the Army's new armored personnel carrier.

"The Strykers were moving down the street at a fairly fast clip. I was bringing up the rear of the column. It's hard enough keeping the correct spacing under normal conditions but keeping a position in city traffic is nuts.

"The line of vehicles in front of me stopped suddenly and I was able to stop before I rear ended the guy in front of me.

"Can't say the same for the bus driver that was following me. His reaction time was too slow. He rear ended our Stryker. Dinged us up a little but we dinged him up a lot. I drove off - (leaving the scene of an accident) - with the bus sitting in the middle of the street with steam coming out from under the hood.

"I think I totalled it.

Moving

The news media is reporting that Stryker Brigade is moving from Samarra to Mosul. The first forward units left Saturday morning for Mosul. 121 men and women drove from Samarra to Mosul without incident. Ten convoys have been attacked along this route in the past several weeks.

Samarra has a population of 210,000 and between Stryker Brigade and the 4th ID had a coalition over watch of approximately 30,000 troops. Mosul, Iraq's third largest city, has a population of 1.2 million. The 101st Airborne is being relieved by Stryker Brigade. The 101st is going home. They were one of the first units to move into Iraq when fighting started. The coalition force in Mosul will be reduced drastically when Stryker Brigade moves in. The 101st has been doing the job with 25,000 troops - Stryker Brigade has 5000.

A Brigade spokesman said that their mission is to work themselves out of a job. The Brigade will be handing over a little more control to local Iraqi units every week. The intent is to have Mosul self policing before June's scheduled handover of sovereignty to a new provisional Iraqi government.

The SBCT is excited about the move - hot showers, hot meals and a roof over their heads (and hopefully easier communication with home).

Death in the Family

My brother, a Vietnam Vet, died New Years Eve. I guess you could say that his nightmares will stop now. I hadn't seen him too often in the past few years. He didn't even attend our dad's funeral or our mom's. He said that it would be too hard for him. But then it wasn't easy for any of the rest of us either.

He's buried at Fort Snelling. It was a small service. The 21 gun salute and playing of Taps touched me and moved me deeply. It wasn't much of a stretch of my imagination to imagine my son there instead of my brother. I think that's what made the day doubly hard for me.

His first wife, still a friend after 35 years, sent me an email today. In it she said;

"As odd as it may seem, somewhere... way down deep... there is a very young girl who mourns the loss of a talented, sometimes funny, always handsome man. She mourns his death, but even more mourns the full productive rewarding life he never had. I am so glad that you and your sister were there for him. You are an amazing person. I know now where his sons get their big hearts... from you!"

Mine Field

"I usually don't do anything too exciting. Well, I guess lately the most exciting thing I've done is walk through a live mine field. The ordinance people were here clearing out a mine field along the border and I was on over watch.

"So I just walked through it.

"The other day they wanted me to unload confiscated weapons and stack them in the pits for disposal. I refused. I'm not properly trained for ordinance disposal, none of the guys I'm with are. I volunteered as over watch that time too.

...

Several days after this communication we learned just how dangerous this job actaully is. A troop from the 1-14 was assisting an unload and an RPG detonated - killing and wounding several people.