Doing What They Are Paid For

Since a Sunday morning rocket attack on Camp Pacesetter, the base camp for Stryker brigade, the 1st Squadron has been patrolling the wide-open areas around the base. Troopers from the 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment are back to working a more traditional role after a week working the checkpoints outside Samarra, Iraq.
The squadron is the eyes and ears of the Fort Lewis-based Stryker brigade, typically conducting reconnaissance - finding the bad guys - and then directing the infantry to the attack. Now they are ranging across open desert around the camp, keeping eyes open and ears tuned for danger.
But out on the checkpoints they pretty much were stationary and got shot at from time to time - two things they don't much care for in the cavalry.
"I think we've been shot at more than any other unit in the brigade," said Maj. Joe Davidson, the squadron command operations officer.

Living In Pods

Living conditions for 1-14 Cav Soldiers have vastly improved over the past several months. Moving from sleeping in, under or around their Strykers, then to tents, they are now sleeping in pre-fab sleeping pods. Each pod accommodates two Soldiers and all of their gear. It's their home away from home. It's the only place they can call their own.

The pods have electricity but no air conditioning. Temperatures in the spring months can get well into the 90's and in the summer months they climb even further - well into triple digits. Night time temperatures are in the 60's this time of year. The summer night temperatures may force Soldiers to move outside to sleep.

IED? Stacked Stones

Something as simple as two stones stacked on one another could indicate the location of an IED hidden on the side of the road.

The terrorists have to mark the location of their handi-work carefully so that they can determine when a "target" is close enough to be caught in the explosion.

SuspiciousStackedStones

These stacked stones were near the location where a roadside bomb had exploded in the night. The area was searched but no other IED's were found. These were probably positioned as a marker for the bomb that went off earlier.

Stryker Brigade Bingo!!

Stryker Brigade Bingo

May 16th - Bingo Card

"Hey Dad. My Bingo card's just about full."
"What do you mean?"
"Mortar, Rocket, IED, Anti-tank Grenade - I just need an RPG or a little Direct Fire to finish it off. It's been an incredible week."

It's amazing that he can even find the strength to make light of what's happened this week. This has been the worst week of his tour to date - each day of the week a new challenge. When we had talked at the beginning of the week he had experienced a very close call with an IED - a road side bomb. The IED incident was an incredible stroke of good luck - or providence. To come out of it with no one wounded or killed is astounding.

Since then there have been three other incidents - all close calls. The renewed fighting in Fullujah and other cities combined with the "destructive" news coverage of the prisoner maltreatment has resulted in a very aggressive posture by the militants all over the country. Media news stories only give the militia and militants a new strength to continue their fight. And as we get closer to the June 30th turn-over of sovereignty things will continue to escalate.

The FOB (Forward Operating Base) in Tal Afar has been mortared and rocketed this week. One mortar shell landing about twelve yards of his position. Way too close for comfort. No one was hurt in either attack but having these shells land so close to occupied positions is scary. We've learned that the FOB in Tal Afar is attacked on an almost daily basis since the problems in the southern cities materialized. The fighting in Fallujah and Najaf get all the attention but the attacks are happening at the northern FOB's as well.

And to top off the week there was an anti-tank grenade attack Friday morning on his patrol as it moved through the streets of Tal Afar. The radio came alive with a sergeant yelling, "Grenades, grenades!", just as the sharp cracks of the grenades going off could be heard through the hull of the Stryker. Again it was speed that made the difference between a close call and disaster. A grenade came to ground just behind the Stryker and exploded. The exact same scenario had played out a week or so ago in this exact same location with a totally different result. That week the anti-tank grenade hit the Stryker square on the roof, penetrated the hull killing one Soldier and wounding two others.

An anti-tank grenade is shaped like a bowling pin or wine bottle - it looks like the old "potato masher" grenades of WW2. It's a Soviet invention and is shipped all over the world. It's a parachute stabilized, impact fuse hollow charge device. This means that once thrown high above the vehicle being attacked the chute (or drogue) puts it in the right position for the shaped charge to blow a hole completely through up to four inches of steel. The one thrown at the Stryker this day missed because the guy throwing it miscalculated the forward speed of the Stryker. It hit the ground behind the Stryker making a lot of noise but the shrapnel bouncing of the Stryker did little damage. Luckily there were no dismounts outside the Strykers at the time.

I'm told safety is measured in degrees when you are in Iraq. A driver is safer than a dismount, by a degree. A Stryker is safer than a Humvee, by a degree. Tal Afar is safer than Najaf, by a degree. And whatever happens in Baghdad on Monday is happening in Tal Afar on Wednesday. Car bomb in Baghdad today and they try the same stunt in Mosul before the end of the week.

Molotov cocktails are making an appearance now. Low tech but effective. A gasoline filled glass bottle with a rag stuck in the mouth. Light the rag on fire, throw the bottle at a vehicle, the glass breaks and the vehicle is engulfed in flames - burning fuel dripping into the interior through any opening.

As a side note; Saturday morning the entire HHT (Headquarters and Headquarters Troop) went out to the gun range to zero in their weapons. There isn't a single Soldier among them that wants to miss what they shoot at.

He Needs His Woman

You left him standing in the pouring rain.
There's every chance he'll go insane.
And someone comes along and takes his hand.
He must have love, can't you understand that.

He needs his woman,
He needs his woman,
And he needs his woman,
He needs his woman to love.

His hands are shaking and his head hangs down.
No peace of mind for him is found.
Break his heart and then you'll set him free.
Someone must save him, just you wait and see, but

He needs his woman,
He needs his woman,
And he needs his woman,
He needs his woman to love.

What will it take till you believe his love is real?
Nobody said he had to love you, now he always will.

Eric Clapton

Jealous...

He's told me that he's jealous of me. He's said that I get to see her face and hear her voice and he can't. He so badly wants to see her and hold her and can't.

The pain of speration is so great some days that he wants to simply drive his Stryker away towards the horizon and get as close to her as he can.

He told me that he wants to buy her a star from the International Star Registry so that he could look up into the night sky and imagine her looking into it as well - and that it's a cool feeling to have, knowing that somebody else is looking at the same star as you are.

The moon and the stars are something constant in his life - something that he knows is unchanging. He said knowing that her moon and his are the same calms him and helps him make it through the tough times.

Video - IED!!

There are scores of IED's going off every week in Iraq. This video taken from a Humvee while on patrol gives you a taste of what it's like...

It took me several viewings to take in the entire scenario. There's a civilian truck coming towards the bomb on the far side which appears to have been caught in the blast. The shrapnel spreads out and peppers the area out to nearly a hundred feet. The smoke and dust created blocks the sun. The reactions of the young men in the Humvee. There are even two Iraqi men that can be seen sitting on the roadside where the vehicles come to a stop outside of the blast area.

This is a 6meg download so if you've decided to view it please be patient. Thank you Michael Yon for placing this video on the web for people to view.

IED

IED!!

Things remain pretty much the same.
New job, new responsibilities, same old enemy.
I guess the bad guys don't know that one job is suppose to be "safer" than another - they attack indiscriminately.

On a road near the out skirts of Tal Afar this morning an HHT (Headquarters and Headquarters Troop) command vehicle, with a driver we all know, came under attack from an IED (Improvised Explosive Device). The two 125 mm shells went off directly alongside the Stryker as it sped down the highway. (Key word here is "sped". High speeds throw off the ability of a coordinated attack.) The vehicle bucked like a horse, felt as if it would topple over, rang like a bell and continued down the road. Shrapnel, rocks, sand and mud peppered the side of the vehicle from the engine compartment on down to the back hatch.

Immediately turning the Stryker around the driver returned to the scene of the attack. Pouring the gas to the engine got the Stryker up to nearly 40 mph in the short distance on it's run flat tires. The 50 cal on the roof started chattering almost immediately as the gunner set his sights on two rapidly retreating figures. Fountains of dirt kicked up to one side of the running Iraqi's - the remote control weapons system had been knocked off center by the explosion and pressure wave. Mud and dirt also obscured most of the video sights. The close impacts of the machine gun rounds stopped the two men dead in their tracks though. Dead in their tracks mind you, not "dead". Guess they thought they were warning shots - not misses. They surrendered. They were lucky, extremely lucky and I don't mean just the Iraqis. They are also in jail. The shots fired were meant to be square on target - they weren't. Two more bad guys off the streets though - the world is a slightly safer place.

The Stryker suffered only superficial damage in the attack. Flat tires, damage to the RPG skirt, minor dings and dents plus the damage to the weapons control system on the roof. One good thing about a close call is that you end up staying off the road for a while so that repairs can be made. Maybe that's why it's safer being in HHT.

Two Iraqi's, two "spare" artillery shells (which there are thousands of literally laying all over the place), a doorbell, a battery, some wire and a detonating cap. That's what an IED consists of. It's cheap, not all that effective really but devastating for Soldier morale. Had this been a Humvee or a truck we would be reading about this incident in the news - (maybe we'll still read about it since it involved an Army Major).

How does the Army determine what was used in an incident like this? Usually there's enough "residue" left in the crater to show them what was used. Shell pieces, wire and other identifying pieces are still there. Many times there will also be nails, bolts and glass found in the crater as well. They pack the hole with whatever they can think of.

Rocket Attack - Again

The FOB in Tall Afar was rocketed early Saturday morning.

A single rocket impacted in an open area 30 yards from the base laundry, sending rocks, dirt and shrapnel into the air. The FOB in Tall Afar is an old Iraqi Air Force base so the base is pretty large with lots of open space, runways and taxiways. For a rocket to impact within 30 yards of an American occupied structure is either a testament to the skill of the Iraqi firing it or just dumb luck.

A quick reaction force mounted up immediately and started reconnaissance, looking for the launch site of the rocket. The Squadron commanders, the Lt. Colonel and Major, were riding in his Stryker during the recon. (New job, new responsibilities, new riders - He's now a member of "Headquarters and Headquarters Troop". HHT.)

The launch site was discovered without too much difficulty. Laying on the ground at the site were an additional 11 rockets, all "duds". Had these additional rockets been fired, the attack on the FOB would have been much more serious and dangerous. The rocket appeared to have been launched from a donkey cart. Yes, a donkey cart. The cart had burn marks on it from the single successful rocket launch. Some of you may remember cartoons showing the Iraqi Army firing scud missiles from the backs of camels - well sometimes the truth is as strange as fiction. Crude but effective. I have a vision of a wooden two-wheeled donkey cart with a make shift cross hair sight attached to the side.

The discovery of so many rockets at his location had sort of a sobering effect on the SBCT Soldiers there at the time. He made a couple of phone calls that afternoon and when we talked to him he sounded like he had a couple "chinks" in his armor. He seemed to be a little down. He seemed to be a little more homesick.

Day Late and A Dollar Short?

Day late and a dollar short?

How is it that a two minute phone call can turn a "back to work" Monday morning into a holiday? This two minute phone call on Monday morning at about 6:45 AM was planned almost like a military operation. It was his Mothers Day gift to his mom. A phone call from half way round the globe. From Tal Afar, Iraq to Minnesota.

Do many kids know their mother's daily schedule, the morning routine, well enough to time a phone call that falls between the "getting ready for the day" and backing out of the garage? All the while taking into account a nine hour time difference and aiming for a window of only about ten minutes, He timed his Happy Mothers Day phone call perfectly.

But a phone call just isn't enough. There has to be a gift too. Being a half world away it's hard to purchase gifts and take care of delivering them. That's what friends/fathers are for.

I received my orders that morning.
I followed them.
I accomplished my mission too.

In fact, I accomplished two missions - for two special people he wanted to honor that day. His mother and his girl's mother.

Gifts were purchased and arrangements made - all on the spur of the moment.

He may have been a day late but you can't say he was the dollar short.

Thoughts From The Heart

My middle son, my friend, the little boy I used to rock to sleep, is at war.

All of those traditional father-son roles are reversed. My child risks his life to protect ME and I am powerless to help him. Worry has become a way of life.

Since November he has faced roadside bombs, mortar rounds and bullets. I'm proud of his service - but I'm also terrified. I am faced with the reality that very few Americans seem to be sharing this stomach-churning fear. My heart is protected by nothing more than God's will and his flak vest.

Soon after he deployed, and before I knew where he was located, I heard a snippet of news on the TV. "Three Stryker Brigade Soldiers died in a vehicle roll-over." My stomach cramped up so much I couldn't finish what I was doing. What three Soldiers? Where? From that report on, every war-related news bulletin cuts like a knife.

When I hear about our losses, a sense of dread comes over me until I know it isn't him. Maybe it's only a few terrible minutes. Maybe a time-stopping hour, or even an ever-lasting half-day before I know it isn't him, but every announcement that begins, "Today an American was killed" makes my world go dark. When I find out it isn't my son, I feel an intense relief followed by an intense guilt because of that relief. Because someone else is getting the news.

My eyes will fill with tears for no reason. My wife suffers, too. She takes a sleeping pill every night and has since November. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night with moonlight pouring through the bedroom window and wonder: "Did this moon provide light for a terrorist as he wired an IED to kill more Soldiers? Will today be the day?"

His telephone calls and email are precious. I want to know how he's coping. Is he becoming a better or worse person, is he being hardened or made kinder? Is he surviving spiritually, emotionally? Has he had to kill? Is his cheerfulness during the few short phone calls as insincere as mine? When he contacts me I know then that we are a day closer to his home coming.

"I hear they were shooting at you guys this weekend," I say as casually as I can. "Did they report that in the news?" he asks. "Yes." "They shoot at us all the time. Don't worry. Their aim isn't very good." How can I not worry? I know deep inside that he feels the same fear I feel but is being strong for me.

One morning while driving to work, I turned on the radio. "Today an American soldier was killed and five wounded when a patrol in northern Iraq was attacked." I wanted to slam on the brakes. I wanted to turn around and drive back home. My thoughts. They said "a soldier," not "a Marine," the media can't keep the two straight. How long does it take for the military to send someone to inform the family? Certainly by now they'd be here if it were him. It's incredibly hard to get through some of those days.

The United States has an all-volunteer military and they do their job well, but the army of parents, wives, children, husbands, girlfriends and boyfriends of those who serve in our military, have only one job and that's to love - to love unconditionally.

And it's our job is to struggle with our fears while watching the seemingly carefree lives of those around us - the lives we used to live - and in plain sight of our friends and everyone else who have no loved ones at risk, no fear of the war.

There's a storm coming... It's gonna suck...

"There's a storm coming our way tonight, and it's going to be bad. It's hot. It's muggy. Hotter than it's been in a long time. The sky is dark and full of clouds and as I look off at the horizon it's brown. That can only mean wind blown sand and dust. Lightning is striking all around us, some of the strikes even casting shadows on the ground, and the rain has started to fall. Before long it's going to be raining mud. It's gonna suck!"

Roadside Bomb Making 101

A seemingly innocent array of tools and materials. Taken individually they are all fairly common items found in the homes of people all across the globe. Found together, hidden in the trunk of a car at a Stryker checkpoint they take on a more sinister appearance.

IED Materials

Guard Duty

Guard Tower

Mortared Yet Again

Last night it was a border incident, tonight it's a base incident.

At 10:30 PM in Rabeea (1:30 PM Central Time) the FOB (Forward Operating Base) experienced a mortar attack. A single round was lobbed into the perimeter and landed 20 yards away from the guard tower showering it with dirt and shrapnel. He was on guard duty in the tower at the time. His comment? "Cool!"

His email was brief - no other details. When I find out more information I will try to post.

In the larger FOB's a mortar attack results in an immediate response from our forces. Units are dispatched to pursue the insurgents. Being that Rabeea is a small FOB with a small contingent of Soldiers I 'm not sure if they following the same operating procedures.

Moving on...

Each day that passes he realizes that he's one day closer to home. One day closer to the one he loves. Maybe his adversaries think the same thoughts but he doubts it.

If they survive the day they probably think that they've failed. That they are one step closer to heaven but not quite there yet. One step closer to the fifty virgins they've been promised.

That's what really sets us apart. We fight harder, we fight smarter because in the end we have something to live for. He knows that when it comes right down to it all he wants is to return home - that's his goal. He'll do whatever is necessary to reach that goal - even if it becomes necessary to kill to achieve it.

It's been said that the goal of war isn't to die for your cause - it's to make the other guy die for his.

Border Contact 2

Border Patrol

Border Contact

They had wanted to get started a little earlier but "mess" was late. It's typical Army life, even in a combat zone, hurry up and wait. The Strykers were all fueled up, weapons were locked. They were finally able to head out at about 5PM.

They moved out from Rabeea going south along the border, doing their normal procedure. Standard Operating Procedure, SOP, stopping at the border checkpoints and forts along the border, talking to Iraqi border patrol, searching for "bad guys". At about 6PM, as they moved along the border the Scouts spot what they believe is the beginning stages of a smuggling operation. At a farm along the border an Iraqi farmer has donkeys with empty gasoline cans tied to their backs standing near a building. The Strykers move into the farm yard and ask if they can search the area. The Iraqis say yes.

"Any weapons?""Only one."Iraqi's are allowed to have a single weapon and one magazine of ammo. But the search netted more than they had declared. These "farmers" had two AK-47's and well over 300 rounds of ammunition. They also had night vision equipment which is illegal for Iraqi citizens to own. The equipment is confiscated and the Iraqis are arrested.

Around 7 to 7:30PM they left the last checkpoint in their area of responsibility. That is when the Strykers move into position along the border and wait until night fall. Stryker Scouts, Ghost Soldiers, don't work in the daytime, but then neither do smugglers and Iraqi insurgents. As the sun goes down the Stryker Soldiers start their patrols of the border. The night had already gone pretty well and they expected it to be a busy.

They were right.

After about an hour and a half of searching and patrolling the Strykers see seven men move across the border. These men are carrying AK-47's and RPG's (rocket propelled grenade launchers). Unfortunately for the Iraqis (or Syrians, if that's who they are) the Rules of Engagement (ROE) for Stryker Brigade is to destroy anything larger than an AK-47 on sight. No fire if fired upon. No wait and see. Immediately take out the threat.

The group of men were already within range of the Stryker Scouts. They would not be allowed to get any closer. Suppressive and disruptive fire is put down immediately by the Strykers . They don't want these guys to get off the first shot and certainly don't want them to get an opportunity to use an RPG. It worked. They are taken by surprise and aren't able to return effective mass fire on the Strykers. The speed, fury and level of fire put down by the Strykers causes the insurgents to scatter across the desert.

Kiowa (small scout helicopters, equipped with rocket pods) support is called in to aid in the search for the now scattered insurgents. The Strykers pull back and once clear of the immediate area the Kiowas roll in and open fire. Aided by night vision equipment on the choppers they attempt to seek out and destroy the enemy. Rockets streak away from the choppers in bright flashes followed by the crack of explosions. The insurgents begin to sprint away into the night but not before many of them return fire on the choppers and the Stryker Soldiers.

The Kiowas roll out and wait for further orders and the Scouts move in to chase down and capture the insurgents. During the chase one Iraqi is shot twice. He's hit in the head and upper thigh. The area is immediately secured and the medics begin treatment on the wounded Iraqi. His wounds are serious and it isn't thought that he will make it but a Blackhawk helicopter is called in to medivac him out anyway. The Blackhawk roars in out of the darkness and sets down in a secured landing area. The Iraqi (or Syrian, since they don't know yet) is put on the chopper and it lifts off and heads for the Tal Afar airfield.

Two more men are captured. One of them runs out of the darkness immediately in front of his Stryker. He's quickly captured and arrested. The other is captured as he tries to "low crawl" away from the same area.

The Strykers stick around the area until daylight. They need to see if they can find the weapons that were dropped and to see if the Kiowa attack had caused any casualties. Nothing is found. There were some very lucky insurgents that morning - they got away.

The Strykers roll out and arrive "home" at 10AM. Seventeen hours after the mission started.

Home Away From Home

Sunset behind the pods. The pods are the Stryker's home away from home. His home is the second pod from the left.

Home Away From Home

... so alone

Deploying to Iraq is hard on those left behind. And it's especially hard when the one that's left behind doesn't have a support system to help them with the lonliness.

His girl and I have had many heartfelt conversations. It sometimes seems that I am her only support. Her family and friends don't understand her feelings.

Words can't really describe the lonliness.

I never knew how it felt to be alone
until you went away.

...so alone.

I tried doing things we did together
but they only remind me of you.

I tried doing other things
but I could not get involved.

I tried smiling
but tears were always in my eyes.

I tried laughing but nothing seems funny.

...so alone.

I never knew how it felt to be alone
until you went away

and I never knew how it felt to love
until you came back

to be with me again.