Lesson Learned

Military life teaches a Soldier many things. Things like - how to dismantle a rifle, clean it and reassemble it in the dark in under five minutes. Or, how to store your 80 pounds of belongings in a backpack for even weight distribution so that you're back is still in one piece after a ten hour march.

But these aren't the only things you learn. Most of us never have to come to grips with the moral dilemma of killing another human being and what it would mean to you and the relationship to your God.

A new Soldier in Stryker Brigade was spouting off a few weeks ago about "killing rag heads", that he wanted to go out and "get some". Most of the guys ignored him and went about their business. All but one.

One Soldier (our Soldier), not a large man, approached this guy, got right in his face and said, "Don't be an idiot."

"It takes more guts and bravery to stick to your believes and hold a moral high ground then it does to become a barbarian and take the life of another. It makes you no better than them if you do. I won't hesitate for a moment to take a life if I have to but I'm not going to talk about it like it's some great adventure and a glorious thing to do. Get over it, grow up."

A military lesson being taught? Or a lesson that comes from some where else? There are many lessons learned when you come right down to it. Sometimes you learn them and other times you teach them.

(He and I talked for hours and hours now that he is home on leave and I've learned some lessons from him as well.)

The Meeting

Things went well. They are together. They are talking. He said she's cried and that he's cried too. He sounds happy. They are together.

He's coming home Sunday and has invited her to come to our house the next weekend. We are planning a family get together that weekend and he wants her to be there.

Flight Home

He flew home through Paris. He said that the people there were rude but then again maybe he's biased knowing what the French have said and done to the US in regards to Iraq. It's someplace he never wants to ever visit again.

He flew from Kuwait to Paris and on to New York in his "civies". Once on US soil a lot of the guys changed out of their "civies" and put on their "CDU's". He did the same. The guys left New York on connecting flights to their home states - hand shakes, pats on the back.

People started to notice them when they walked through the terminal wearing their uniforms. Thumbs up, head nods, smiles... He felt good about being a member of our armed services.

I have to say, when I saw him cross the baggage claim area wearing his uniform I was so incredibly proud of him. It's great to have him home.

Homecoming

Homecoming is bittersweet. It was wonderful to think that he would be out of harm's way for a couple weeks but it was heart breaking to think about how lonely he would feel. My thoughts were correct. He didn't smile and laugh like he used to - he was withdrawn and sullen. He hugged his mother and gave her that big smile but there wasn't truth behind it. He wasn't happy.

He made good on his promise too. He left this morning to chase his girlfriend to the ends of the earth. He's on his way. He called her this morning and asked her if he could come and see her, to talk to her. Her response? "Whatever."

"I need a yes or a no."
"It's up to you."
"Tell me what you want."
"You can come if you want to."
"You know, I don't think you know what you want. I believe you think you've made the biggest mistake of your life and you will regret it the rest of your life." She cried..."Now tell me, yes or no, do you want me to come up there?"
"Yes."

He called me from the road a little while ago - he's on his way.

Ides of March

Leave has been scheduled. He comes home on the 21st of March. He told me in an email to have his Mustang GT fueled up and ready to go. He wants to be able to "chase down" his girlfriend and convince her that she made a mistake by leaving him.

I suspect that he will be successful - he's a very persuasive guy - good looking too (got my looks-ha).

I just wonder if it will last.

Well, I don't expect to see a lot of him during the two weeks he's home. He'll be burning the candle at both ends.

Checkpoint

Stryker Brigade soldiers help the Iraqi police and the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps maintain security. One evening last week, SBCT soldiers manned a checkpoint, stopping cars and searching them for weapons, money and wanted men. Each vehicle was stopped and the occupants’ names were checked against a list while soldiers searched each car’s trunk, glove box and backseat.

The soldiers may have looked exposed standing in the middle of the road, but they were being protected by snipers surveying the traffic and the countryside through night-vision goggles from the roof tops above the street. They stay in the shadows, unseen, until they are needed. And when they are needed their response is swift and deadly.

The highlight of the evening was the detention of several men, one of whom was carrying about $1,000 in Iraqi and U.S. money that he said he got for selling his car. The group was released later when the man’s story checked out.

A few days earlier, they were doing reconnaissance in this same area when an attack occurred. A guy empties a magazine from his AK-47 and throws a hand grenade before one of the snipers get him. He had another hand grenade and an assault vest full of AK magazines. He looked like he was prepared to fight to the death - which is exactly what he accomplished.

Stryker Brigade has more snipers and sharpshooters than any other unit in the military. These guys are able to "reach out and touch somebody" well before the bad guys can do the same to our soldiers. Road checkpoints and patrols in the cities are all given protective over watch by snipers - both day and night. These men have prevented many US casualties because of their work.

Day to day operations like these don't get big headlines but they are the stuff that forms the lives of our men and women in uniform serving on the "frontlines" in Iraq.

Fumble Fingers

"Two days ago, three Iraqi civilians were killed and one wounded when they were stopped in northern Mosul at a traffic control point. After resisting questioning and opening fire on an Iraqi police officer, one of the Iraqis in the car attempted to throw a grenade at the checkpoint.

The Iraqi with the grenade had a little trouble throwing it out the car window. The grenade bounced off the edge of the car door and exploded inside the car, killing two of the occupants and wounding the two others who were taken to the hospital under guard.

One died yesterday of wounds. Further research showed that the four individuals were directly involved in the assassination of a city council member, Tillal al-Khalidi, in November of 2003."

News clip from Mosul

Through the Glass Faintly

This is the view from the driver's seat of his Stryker...


Through the Glass

Bulletproof glass - pretty thick stuff!

Sentry Duty

The Troopers walk across the wet ground their boots get heavier from the mud with each step . Finally, they're there, almost out of breath. They grab the metal rail and bang their boots against the first step. Instantly, they're pounds lighter as globs of wet sticky mud fall from their worn desert boots.

With their M-4's slung over their shoulders and their canteens full of water for the long evening, they slowly begin the 30-foot climb to the summit. Finally, they are on top of the guard tower - about thirty feet above the base. Surrounded by steel, mortar and sandbags, the climbers meet familiar faces -- the guards who have spent the past several hours protecting this portion of base camp. Maybe a few grunts, an 'it's about time' and then they are gone.

The views from the towers are breath taking, overlooking the city stretching out into the distance. Each tower overlooks some of Iraq's most dangerous areas - the areas just outside a Forward Operating Base. For young soldiers barely out of their teens - (or still in them) - knowing they are protecting the lives of their fellow Soldiers below must bring a sense of satisfaction that goes beyond pulling what some would consider just a detail. It's a huge amount of responsibility protecting the FOB and the Soldiers inside the walls. They're doing something important whether they realize it or not. Protect the compound or the mission could fail, someone could get hurt or worse yet killed. They make it safer for the Soldiers resting inside the compound.As the sun slowly inches toward the horizon, they know it's only a few minutes before the rules changes. The rules change for the bad guys collecting intelligence about the operating base. The rules change for the Soldiers as they flip down and activate their night-vision goggles. From black and gray shadows to shades of light and dark green, they now are able to watch the large wall separating the busy city from the forward operating base. Watching for any unusually activity, watching for that fleeting figure with a rifle or RPG. During the day it's easier because they can see a lot more things than at night. At night they have to be more aware of their surroundings and the things around them.The night is silent except for maybe the occasional honking of a car horn or other sounds of the city. As the Soldiers scan the city, they hear the distinctive sounds of AK-47 assault rifle rounds being fired off in the distance. Over the building tops, red tracers cut through the black sky, disappearing into the night. The Soldiers don't flinch or even react - a sure sign of a veteran guard on the towers. They probably think to themselves 'how will I react if we were to get shot at, what will my first reaction be?', but they don't show it.Whether the Soldiers are in towers or stopping and searching vehicles entering the FOB, the guards make sure that Soldiers in their rooms can sleep comfortably knowing they're safer because of their comrades keeping watch.

"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing."-Albert Einstein

Thanks for reading...

Explosives Disposal

Thunderous booms and reddish orange flames send black smoke boiling into the air. The blast echoes and reverberates. At a distance of a half mile, the blast pressure from the just unleashed explosive forces can be felt against the skin. Even those expecting the sudden shattering explosions - flinch and duck when they go off. An unfortunate miscalculation of the blast radius can have disastrous effects on the rest of your day, or maybe even, your life.

Shrapnel, pieces of metal, rocks and sand blasted into the air by the explosions, continues to rain down for what seems like ten minutes. Some of the Soldiers around you might make the sign of the cross, thanking a higher power that they were far enough away when the blast went off. Thankful that the men planning this job knew what they were doing.

An ICDC operations building too close to a blast like this one in Rabeea felt just such an explosive force on Monday. It was an "oops" day for the men planning the fireworks. A slight miscalculation caused every window on the side of the building facing "the pit" to shatter and blast inward, showering the Iraqi security forces inside with glass and dirt. One poor man brewing tea near a window was peppered with slivers of glass. "Doc" treated him on the spot and one ICDC security policeman got a new nickname - "Patch"

An Angel...

He sometimes talks a little bit about her when we are on line. This time he told me a little story about a movie that they had gone to before he had shipped out for Fort Lewis.

"We went to the movies. I don't remember what it was but that's not the point anyway.

"There were a bunch of people behind us laughing and making a lot of noise. They kept coming and going before the movie started. She said she had to go to the bathroom. While she was gone I sat there watching the previews on the screen, listening to the people behind me, watching them come and go.

"All of a sudden a girl came around the corner into the theater. I looked over and thought I was looking at an angel. It was dark. I couldn't see her very well but I knew she was beautiful. I looked away towards the screen not wanting to stare.

"It wasn't until she started down my row that I realized it was her. The angel I saw - she was my angel. It's something I'll never forget as long as I live."

angel

Another Day - Operation Iraqi Freedom

This is how your know your day just isn't going to get any better... Iraqi sand becomes Iraqi mud during the rainy season. A second Stryker buried it's wheels in the mud trying to retrieve this one. It took a bulldozer to yank the two armored trucks from the grips of the mud.

A Typical Day

Encounter on the Street

An Iraqi citizen came up to the main gate of the FOB (Forward Operating Base) in Tal Afar and appeared to be quite upset. After a few moments he was able to get across to the guards that he had seen a truck parked on the street with several armed men inside. Soldiers were immediately tasked to apprehend this vehicle.

They scrambled into their gear and exited the main gate of the FOB on foot. The directions given by the Iraqi citizen were right on the mark and the "lorry" was exactly where the man said it would be. Cautiously approaching the parked truck from both sides of the street, the soldiers had safeties off and where ready to assault the men in the vehicle if they didn't surrender

Working their way down the street as quickly as possible the men leap frogged closer to the truck parked on the curb. Through the windows they could see that the men inside had weapons. As they got within a few yards of the truck they heard a voice from inside, "Hey Chaps!"

The men in the truck were British soldiers. A confrontation on the street in Tal Afar was narrowly averted. If shooting had started there would definitely have been casualties - on both sides.

After a few nervous laughs and a quick conversation, the soldiers turned back towards the FOB, still a little jumpy after their close call. As they neared the FOB, AK fire erupted ahead of them. Months of training immediately took over and every Soldier dove for cover and immediately started scanning for "targets". Nothing materialized, no more shots were fired and cautiously they completed the trip back to the safety of the FOB. Later, a nervous Iraqi Security Guard with a sheepish grin on his face admitted to "accidentally" firing his AK-47. (The poor guy got chewed out twice. Once by the officer in charge and again by the Iraqi interpreter!)

In my interview with "one of these Soldiers" I was told that he wasn't nervous or scared - instead he said he was calm - it was as if he'd done it all before. Everyone took both incidents in stride, except for a couple of "newbies" who had just arrived in Iraq. Their hands were still shaking fifteen minutes later. (Only four months in country and they already have the bearing of hardened veterans.)

Info on Stryker Brigade

The first two Stryker Brigades were created at Fort Lewis in Washington state. Brigades in other parts of the country, including Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, and Fort Polk, LA will convert to using Strykers over the next several years.

Each brigade consists of 3,614 soldiers and up to 167 Stryker combat vehicles, a dozen 155 mm cannons and dozens of mortars. The brigades also have access to Air Force and Navy jet fighters and a host of support capabilities.

But what makes the brigades special are 428-man intelligence-gathering teams called RISTA - (Reconnaissance, Intelligence, Surveillance and Target Acquisition) - equipped with high-tech surveillance devices. Each team uses three unmanned aerial drones (remote control airplanes) and other long-range sensing devices (Stryker based radar units and radio transmission interception devices) to essentially scan every detail of a combat zone in a complete circle for miles around. The RISTA teams carry enough firepower to extract themselves from just about any situation but their primary weapon is a field radio. (Our son is a member of a RISTA team. 1st Squadron -14th Cavalry. The Squadron consists of 4 Troops plus a Headquarters Troop.)

"They are your eyes and ears out there," said Col. Robert Brown, commander of the second Stryker Brigade to be formed. "It is what warriors have always wanted."

The unit also has what Brown calls "human-intelligence" soldiers (HUMINT) - "smart young men who know the right questions to ask" of captured enemy soldiers or civilians in a war zone. Those soldiers are trained in interrogation techniques and have immediate access to the CIA and other national intelligence databases through satellite links. Brown's technology also helps him to see the location of each vehicle in his own brigade and each enemy vehicle. He merely looks at a computer screen.

"I really think it is revolutionary," he said. "We see first. We understand first. We act first and we finish decisively."