Calm is Relative
The Soldiers of Stryker Brigade sit fixated with misty eyes as the images come across the TVs in Mosul and Tal Afar. Their comrades in Fallujah are getting stuck right in the thick of things and it's upsetting. Attacks in the Northern Provinces are smaller though no less frequent. Handfuls of men probe positions and disrupt patrols every night and every day.
Terrorists and Iraqi dissidents continue to attack and harass SBCT convoys, patrols and bases. Troops always wear their Kevlar and body armor. Always wary of their surroundings. They are prepared, ready to fight a pitched battle at a moments notice but luckily none has materialized.
Viewing what's happening in Fallujah you might think that these young men and women would want to leave for home but it has the exact opposite affect. They are more determined now than ever - there is a job to do and they are determined to get it done.
Stryker Brigade took over the entire Northern Province from the 101st Airborne - a division with 20,000 men in country. SBCT is Brigade strength, only a little more than 5000. Mosul and the surrounding province has a population of 2.5 million. 5000 men and women with no heavy weapons - no tanks - facing a nervous population equal to that of the greater Twin Cities area.
Our Soldier, back in country now, says that every one is more alert - more wary. Even though the conditions in the north are still relatively calm it could change in a heart beat.
Stryker Brigade has detained several dozen Iraqi's and killed a total of 20 attackers over the past week. An eight man patrol narrowly averted disaster yesterday when an IED exploded between their SUV's. The explosion was followed by an attacking body of Iraqi's - the Soldiers sped away in their now windowless SUV's.
Terrorists and Iraqi dissidents continue to attack and harass SBCT convoys, patrols and bases. Troops always wear their Kevlar and body armor. Always wary of their surroundings. They are prepared, ready to fight a pitched battle at a moments notice but luckily none has materialized.
Viewing what's happening in Fallujah you might think that these young men and women would want to leave for home but it has the exact opposite affect. They are more determined now than ever - there is a job to do and they are determined to get it done.
Stryker Brigade took over the entire Northern Province from the 101st Airborne - a division with 20,000 men in country. SBCT is Brigade strength, only a little more than 5000. Mosul and the surrounding province has a population of 2.5 million. 5000 men and women with no heavy weapons - no tanks - facing a nervous population equal to that of the greater Twin Cities area.
Our Soldier, back in country now, says that every one is more alert - more wary. Even though the conditions in the north are still relatively calm it could change in a heart beat.
Stryker Brigade has detained several dozen Iraqi's and killed a total of 20 attackers over the past week. An eight man patrol narrowly averted disaster yesterday when an IED exploded between their SUV's. The explosion was followed by an attacking body of Iraqi's - the Soldiers sped away in their now windowless SUV's.
posted by deesci | 8:41 AM
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