The Best Things in Life

The last chat conversation I had with him was almost more than either of us could handle. Sometimes it takes a while for the subject matter to get serious and often there is never enough time for that to happen. We talk about cars, guns, cars, movies, cars - for what seems like hours - stuff that doesn't really matter. When the conversation lasts long enough, that's when he surprises me and tells me what he's really thinking and I attempt to make sense of it all. This is that attempt...

What are the really important things in life? One Soldier you're with claims he's missing the best things. "Wine, women and song", those are his best things in life. But not you. Sure, you think about the same things that your buddy thinks about but they are nothing more than distractions. Those things aren't really important. What's really important are the things you think about every day and tell no one. Love, friendship, family - the realization that without these things life has no real meaning. You realize that if you don't have these things you miss out on the best things life gives us. These are the best things and these are the things that you want.

Ambushed!

Things are getting more and more hectic now that the Iraqi government is moving forward. The "bad guys" are doing whatever they can to chip away at the resolve of the new Iraqi leaders and the foreign troops and contractors assisting them. Many of the attacks are haphazard and spontaneous but many of them show planning and structuring.

A convoy escorted by Strykers encountered one such well structured plan the other day. The convoy consisted of three water tankers, two fuel tankers, a truck carrying MRE's, bottled water and other supplies plus a handful of other vehicles. The Strykers space themselves out within the line of vehicles plus at the front and rear of the column.

One Stryker runs out ahead of the convoy alert for IED's and other dangers. The attackers let each vehicle cross the bridge in turn and move on. When the last vehicle wheeled onto the bridge - it happened.

Fifteen to twenty attackers armed with RPG's, AK-47's and machine guns spring their attack. An RPG is let loose at the first truck in the convoy, crippling it. The lead truck is now disabled and blocking the way forward. The ditches at the approach to the bridge keep the heavily laden trucks on the road. The Iraqi's are following SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) for a convoy ambush. The Strykers and everybody else knows at the instant the first RPG hits what's about to happen.

And it happens before the smoke settles from the first hit. Another RPG streaks out from concealment directed at the Stryker stopped on the bridge. This is an attempt to disable the vehicle on the bridge blocking the convoys retreat. This RPG impacts low against the railing on the bridge. It's a stroke of luck for the convoy. So far only one vehicle damaged. Two more RPG's are fired but miss their targets in the confusing fire fight that is erupting at the bridge crossing.

As soon as the first RPG was fired the Strykers moved into action. They lay down fire to disrupt the attack and throw off the aim of any more RPG gunners. 40mm grenades are lobbed continuously into the suspected hiding places of the insurgents as 50 cal bullets impact in the scrub and bushes. M-4 Carbines add their steel to the mix. Ak-47's and Soviet made machine guns return fire - but only for a brief period. Knowing they are out gunned the "bad guys" retreat - the Strykers sending them on their way with some additional fire.

One truck driver wounded by shrapnel. Lot's of blood but not a serious wound.

One truck disabled. It'll need to be towed.

Several Iraqi dead, they won't be conducting any more attacks.

One foiled ambush.

Puzzle Pieces

I'm made of pieces,
just like a puzzle.

But missing a single piece.

Without it I can't be whole.

If you can't imagine me,
or see me in your thoughts,
look really hard.

Because I am always with you.
You have the piece that's missing.

You have my heart.

Sometimes it only takes a few words to convey the depth of emotion they feel for each other.

FOB Key West

Qayyarah Airfield in northern Iraq, 30 miles north of Mosul, is near the northern oil fields and was a primary target during the onset of the war. The airfield's runways and hangers were hit with just under 45 precision guided bombs. The bombs left the base with some craters in the runways 30 feet deep and 120 feet across and most of the buildings destroyed. Some of these craters still had unexploded 2000 lb bombs sitting in them.

Once US forces got on site it took only a week and a half to repair the runways and to start receiving the largest transport plane in the Air Forces inventory, the C-5 Galaxy.

Life at Key West is a whole lot different than the Key West most of us know. Q-West is all dust, scorpions and camel spiders. The first troops on site lived in tents but the pre-fab housing units have since arrived and living conditions are much better. Looking out over the base it's dirt piles, holes and broken concrete as far as the eye can see.

Key West does have something that no other base in Iraq has. A golf course. It's only six holes and there are no grass greens but to the Soldiers who miss their game, it's heaven. The courses six holes range from fifty yards to 250 yards. Large rakes at the "greens" are accompanied by signs that politely ask that you rake the green smooth for any golfers following.

RPG Attack

With the turn over of the government in Iraq on June 30th and sovereignty for the Iraqi people it's changing the way that US and coalition troops will conduct business in Iraq. These changes are already well under way. The changes include the closure of the 1-14 Cave's headquarters in Tal Afar. The FOB in Tal Afar has been closed and the airfield turned over to the new Iraqi military. This change over began on June 20th.

The 1-14 is moving to Camp Anaconda near Balad, Iraq - 45 minutes north of Baghdad. Both of the out lying FOB's, in Sinjar and Rabeea, will also be abandoned. The Iraqi ICDC will also be taking over operations at these locations and will be conducting their own independent border patrols.

The HHT (Headquarters and Headquarters Troop) left Tal Afar on June 20th but did not head directly to Anaconda. Instead there was business that needed to be taken care of in Qayyarah at FOB Q West (or FOB Key West as it's known to the soldiers) - More about Q-West in another post.

The HHT saddled up early Sunday morning Iraq time and headed to Qayyarah. And being the courteous hosts they are, an Iraqi insurgent gave the guys of the HHT a rousing "bon voyage".

The Strykers form up and roll down the highway in route to Q-West. All of a sudden, from the cover of an irrigation ditch choked by scrub and bushes an RPG streaks out towards the convoy. It streaks past the nose of the lead Stryker in the column and impacts on the far side of the road, exploding harmlessly.

The first couple of Strykers "open up" on the drainage ditch with their 50 cal machine guns. The volley of machine gun fire is over quickly. Just as the guns stop a fleeing figure is spotted running down the length of the ditch away from the Strykers. This lone attacker, pumped with adrenaline, moves faster than the dismounts that are in pursuit. He's able to slip away into the scrub before the Stryker Soldiers can apprehend him.

There isn't time to continue the search and the Strykers again move out towards Q-West. The remainder of the trip is uneventful and the Strykers arrive at Q-West safely and with enough time left in the day to relax a little and even locate the Internet Cafe to email family.

Afraid of Death...

Sometimes he forces us away from him. He tries to make us angry. He tries to make his girl angry too.

We talked about it one day on chat. He told me that if we are angry at him, if we are mad at him, if she is angry with him and then he dies over there we won't cry for him. We won't feel the loss. And yet he knows that's not true either.

He has told me - and this is incredibly hard to write about or talk about - that he is afraid of death. He doesn't want it to take him. Not because he'll feel anything after, if it were to happen.

He's afraid of the pain and hurt it would cause those of us who love him and care about him. He thinks about that and it tears him up inside. So in a strange stupid sort of way he's trying to protect all of us from a pain that's worse than the long seperation we've all had to endure up to this point.

Ghost Riders???

It seems that no one can get things right anymore. President Bush made a reference about the Strykers during his visit and speech at Fort Lewis, the home of Stryker Brigade earlier this week.

He said, and I quote, "Iraqis have taken to calling the Stryker brigades the Ghost Riders." This comment really got the news media started. One news reporter said, "Doesn't sound very Islamic to me." Another commented, "Sounds like a reference to the song 'Ghost Riders of the Sky'."

Well folks, maybe the Iraqi's didn't nickname the brigade but one particular woman in Samarra back in December started the wheels turning. Here is the exact comment made back in December by an Iraqi woman in Samarra after a raid in a neighborhood there. This comment was recorded in a letter sent home from an officer present at the time the woman was questioned.
"A woman from Samarra said it best when she spoke to one of our linguists and said "You are like ghosts. We never know when or where you will strike next. You are everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Thank you for taking away the evil men who caused trouble." I think that pretty much says it all."
Yes - pretty much says it all. That comment ended up becoming the nickname. They are known as the Ghost Soldiers or Ghost Riders and you can take it to the bank that they always will be. Silent and deadly - Ghosts own the night.

Escort Service

It's not glamorous. But it's essential.

Convoy duty. An army runs - and fights - only when it has the supplies it needs to continue. Fuel, food, ammo and spare parts. In warfare one of the primary targets of any attacking "army" are the supply lines. Cut off supplies and you slow the other army's advance and impede their success

Up to this point one of the only weapons platform that could keep up with the convoys as they traveled the byways and highways of Iraq were Humvees and/or trucks equipped with machine guns. The Strykers are about to change that. Elements of the Stryker Brigade have already operated out of Camp Anaconda as convoy escorts and the success rate has been phenomenal. Attacks on convoys escorted by the Strykers quickly tapered off.

The Strykers are more heavily armored than a Humvee but faster than a Bradley. They are fast enough to keep up and powerful enough to stop an attack. Each Stryker carries more firepower than anyone riding in a Humvee could ever hope for - 40mm grenade launchers and 50 cal machine guns can reach out and touch somebody, plus the added advantage of four heavily armed (including man launched missiles) "dismounts" to take the fight back to the bad guys. And the machine gunner is protected inside the vehicle and operates his weapon remotely. Telescopic gun sights allow the gunners to see further and infrared/night vision give them additional clout. The convoy attacks stopped quickly after the Strykers made an "impression" on the insurgents.

More of these Stryker vehicles will be starting convoy escort duty this weekend. Most if not all of the 1-14 Cav, his Squadron, will be moving to Balad. Strykers will be accompanying the fuel and supply trucks on the "mean streets" of Iraq. It can be assumed that they will escort those convoys viewed as being in the most danger of attack.

Convoy escort will mean a refocus by those tasked to do the job. The Strykers have been running patrols. A Stryker patrol's main function is to "entice" an attack so that the Strykers can take the fight back to the enemy. The Stryker Soldiers have been "aggressive" up to this point in their tour. This isn't the case with escort duty. Now the Stryker Soldier's main focus is to get all of the men and equipment under their protection safely from point A to point B. An attack on a convoy won't necessarily initiate an aggressive pursuit by Strykers - more likely there will be a Stryker that will pull aside to inflict a little damage, keeping the enemies heads down so that the convoy can pass without loss.

Robin Hood and His Merry Men??

The newly appointed Interim President of Iraq, Ghazi al-Yawer, is the cousin of the Governor of Ninivah province. The officers of the 1-14 Cav made a trip this week to the Governor's residence to congratulate the Governor and to discuss the future of the northern province. Relations with the Governor are even more important now then they were before his cousin was appointed President. al-Yawer is a vocal critic of the US and it's policies so getting on the Governors "good side" is important for the US in the northern region and Iraq as a whole.

The Iraqi and his staff were extremely cordial, providing a luncheon for the US officers and the troops accompanying them. Our Soldier has "been there, done that" in the past at the Governor's Palace. Usual fare is mutton, rice, fresh fruits, vegetables and pop to wash it down.

After lunch, with a good meal settling in their stomachs, the Strykers start back to Tal Afar. He's fully expected to get "home" and then be able to take a few hours off to get a nap and catch up on his sleep. But it wasn't part of the plan.

Ever wary, the Strykers roll down the highway towards Tal Afar. Having traveled the route countless times over the past 6 months all of the Strykers know the potential dangers of the road they are on. Imagine driving to work in the morning and looking at the highway not as a scenic drive but as a rat's nest of potential traps and ambush points.

At a point where trees come up close to the road, it happens.

"Mortars! Incoming!"
"RPG's, RPG's!"
"Keep moving! Keep moving!"

Mortar rounds impact in and around the Strykers as they pass the trees. Insurgents, using the trees as cover, pop up and fire RPG's at the Strykers and just as quickly fade back into the foliage. Small arms fire randomly pings and pops off the sides and top of the Strykers as the insurgents lay down cover fire, keeping the Americans inside their vehicles.

Stryker weapons systems just as quickly return fire into the trees. 50 Caliber rounds rain branches and leaves down from the trees as they pass through the forest.

Then, as quickly as it started, it's over. The Iraqi's fade away into the trees of what I've been told is the only forested area in Iraq. No damage, no wounded - the insurgent attack failed to accomplish anything other than preventing a Stryker driver from getting his planned nap. The mortar rounds were "pop cans", 60mm. These rounds have to score a direct hit on the roof of a Stryker to have even the potential of doing damage. The RPG's were fired hastily and inaccurately, all of them passing between the Strykers and impacting on the other side of the road. The Stryker Soldiers dismount and pursue the insurgents, Strykers use their remote video systems to scour the area with telescopic sights but no enemy are sited. A couple hour search of the woods dashes all hopes for a rest once they get back to Tal Afar.

Certainly there are a handful of Iraqi insurgents "bragging" about their attack on coalition forces over Chi tea and bread the next morning. They boast about killing the Infidel's and destroying their armored vehicles. This boasting hopefully will lead to their capture.

Ghosts in the Night

Night mission. Soldiers in camouflage face paint check batteries in their night vision equipment and lock ammo clips in their weapons. Objective - capture a single man who is suspected of directing mortar attacks on US troops.

The Stryker's lift their rear doors and silently glide off into the night. Forty Soldiers. One 4 man squad will go in the front door of each building and another will circle around the rear to prevent any escape out the back. Strykers and their drivers will wait, a short distance away, with engines running, ready to move in and pick up the Soldiers and detainees when the mission is complete. The plan is to "detain" every male in the small village.

They dismount and the squads split up in the darkness and walk a half mile through brambles, trees and ditches. They move in silence, the soldiers relying on their night vision to scope out a route to the homes, pausing occasionally to check the GPS. Finally they come up to a large fence, cross it and slide off towards the houses on the map. Rear guard settles into an irrigation ditch behind the homes ready to stop anyone exiting the buildings. Now they wait

The dogs throughout the village are barking. And when the dogs stop you can hear eerie screams and yowls - cats howling in the alleys. Then even the dogs begin to howl. The moon breaks through the cloud cover and casts light down through the trees, creating moving patterns of light and shadow on the ground. It's like something from a horror movie set. The kind of scene that makes the hair stand up on your arms. Ghosts are out tonight. Waiting in the darkness.

The signal is given and the squads move on the houses. Then the sound of metal against wood. The locks give way and the doors are breached. Strykers roar in out of the darkness. Sergeants yell, "Go, go, go!" Woman can be heard crying and screaming. Lights flick on in the houses and sleeping residents are startled in their beds. The Soldiers pour through the homes, fanning out into every room, yelling as they go. "Friendly going upstairs!" "Bedroom clean!" "Upstairs clean!" "Kitchen clean!" "Friendly coming out!"

It's upsetting to see children no older than 10 with there hands raised above their heads and looks of sheer terror on their faces. Tears clouding their eyes and running down their faces. Every male is rounded up. The two youngest, only children, are released and the rest are zip-cuffed and led away to the waiting Strykers. The Stryker Soldiers load up and move out. The Iraqi women, wailing, sobbing and crying, run down the road behind the retreating Strykers.

It's then that you realize that these poor people have no idea what's going on or what's just happened. When you think about it you get a lump in your throat. It has to be a terrifying experience for these poor families to see these apparitions round up their husbands and fathers and spirit them away. You're glad you can move away quickly and leave this scene behind.

A total of twenty five men are detained and lined up for identification on the road as the interpreter takes down their names. Once it's determined that the man they are looking for isn't among the group the orders are given to cut the zip-cuffs and the frightened bewildered men be released. One man, braver than the others, faces the Americans in their glistening camouflage paint and asks what the people of the village can do so that this doesn't happen again.

He's told that the enemy is firing from their fields and that they can't sit aside and allow it to happen. Go out, find those responsible and tell the authorities. Otherwise Ghost Soldiers will come again.

The villagers are instructed to remain sitting on the road as the Soldiers board their Strykers and disappear into the night.

If I could reach the stars....

If I could reach the stars I'd pull one down for you
Shine it on my heart so you could see the truth
That this love I have inside is everything it seems
But for now I find it's only in my dreams

That I can change the world
I would be the sunlight in your universe
You will think my love was really something good
Baby if I could change the world

If I could be king even for a day
I'd take you as my queen I'd have it no other way
And our love will rule in this kingdom we have made
Till then I'd be a fool wishin' for the day

Thanks Eric Clapton...

International Star Registry

I guess it's the "anniversary of the day we first met" or something like that. He had a star named after her. Had a plaque sent to her house with a star map pin-pointing the stars location in the heavens.


He wanted to give her something special for the occasion and had been thinking about a star for a while now.


He sits on guard duty at night and looks up at the sky. The sky on cloudless nights sparkles and shimmers with the light of billions of stars - more stars than he's ever seen before. Then he thinks about sitting on a blanket with her under those stars, gazing up at them for hours and talking. It comforts him. Little dreams like that comfort him.

The package contained a card.

Stryker's Sting!!

The Stryker's sting! 50 Caliber machine gun on top of the Stryker. Photo taken in northern Iraq near Tal Afar.

Stryker .50 Cal

How Do You Do It?

I've been asked how I can write about these things. How I am able to compose these stories and send them when they involve someone so close to me.

To put it simply - It's therapy. Holding these "stories" inside doesn't help. I finish a "chat" with him and my hands are shaking, I have tears in my eyes and I feel numb. It helps me clear my head when I put things down in black and white. I discuss the reality of war with my son each and every time we talk. And then I contemplate that reality each and every day. It's disheartening to hear about these attacks and to think that Soldiers don't come home because of them. And then all I can do is pray that ours does.

Commitment

Many people are terrified of commitment. They see it as a trap - a cage - that will lock them up and keep them from something better. So they break away from commitment and seek something else only to find that they miss the security and love that true commitment brings with it. They move from relationship to relationship not finding what they are searching for.

Truth is, commitment can be empowering - it opens up your life for new possibilities. Commitment gives you strength. Commitment gives you focus. Commitment lets you actually see where you are headed in life and in love.

But commitment requires sacrifice - you pay a price. But sometimes the right commitment is worth any price. As for me, I'm totally commited to my wife and I know that she is to me also. We will never be apart - we will stay together until one of us leaves this world. And then loneliness is the ultimate price we pay - but it will have been worth it. To have known true love and commitment is worth any price.

There is no better way to get clear on who you are and what matters to you then through commitment. It gives your world true value.

I guess that's it in a nutshell. I know he's totally committed to her but is it too early to say that she is now totally committed to him?

Flat Tire Attack

Yesterday was a short day but not an uneventful one.

A road trip from Tal Afar to Rabeea and back turned out to be a little bit more than they had anticipated. First, a little background information. The Stryker has run flat tires, eight of them. You don't want to have a crew outside the vehicle changing a tire when there's a battle going on so the tires each have an air pump that keeps the tire inflated until it's convenient to change it. But when you're not in battle and there's no apparent danger to the crew you stop and repair the tire.

A Stryker in their little convoy running out to Rabeea blew a tire. Generally Soldiers, and Scouts specifically, don't like to be in a stationary position without protective cover but you do what you have to do. They all pull over to the side of the road and everyone prepares to fix a flat. It's not simply pull out the jack and the spare, twist off the lug nuts and throw on the replacement. It's much more complicated - set up a defensive perimeter, acquire the parts and then man handle the table size tire off the Stryker and replace it.

The tire replacement went smoothly - no problems. But as the Strykers pulled back onto the road and started on into Rabeea mortar rounds impacted into the site where they had just been sitting.

Road Repairs


"They were 'pop-cans' - 60 millimeter. They have to be dead on to do any damage."
"How close were they?"
(Laughs) "About a mile away. But they were very, very close to where we changed the flat."

Thankfully, the coordination and communication between the attackers and their forward observer wasn't very good. They were "an hour late and a mile short".

Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) tell them that when you are attacked you don't go on the defensive. You go on the offensive. You attack back. A search for the attackers is started immediately but everyone knew that there was little chance of finding anybody or anything. And they were right - nothing is found. The attackers shot from the edge of town and melted into the population before the Strykers got there.

The officers take care of their business in Rabeea quickly and the Strykers head back home to Tal Afar.

Emotional Roller Coaster

Roller Coaster.

That's what they are all on - an emotional roller coaster. I imagine it's hardest on those that have loved ones at home - not parents and siblings - but wives, children and girlfriends. I know it's true when I talk to him. He told me that every time he has a close call he thinks of her and how close he came to never having a chance to show her how much he loves her. "Sorry dad, I don't think of you and mom - only her."

I tell him I understand and I do. I know in my heart that if it was me in his shoes I'd think of my wife in those same situations.

He said that when things happen to him the training takes over - mind and body. He reacts immediately and hopefully appropriately to the situation presenting itself. Usually it's all over in an instant or two and as soon as it is his thoughts then turn to her and he wants to cry.

Someone famous once said that war is hours and hours of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror. He and I laughed about this quote because it is so very true - he says it's exactly what it's like.

I think about and pray for him constantly. And at the same time I think about and pray for his love so that she can find the strength necessary to wait for him because I realize that without her he has nothing - he shows me that over and over again.

Weapons Cache

The 1-14 Cav, in Tal Afar found a weapons cache while conducting a cordon and search the other day. This large cache was mostly rockets (center and background) with a fair number of RPG's too (in the foreground). You can also see a handful of fairly large bombs (on the right).

Every weapon seized by Stryker Brigade is inventoried and photographed before being destroyed. Why? Only the military knows for sure.

Literally tons of Iraqi weapons and ammunition are destroyed in Iraq each and every day. Saddam's military was rated as one of the world's most powerful and the amount of equipment and weapons destroyed to date is proof of that claim.

Weapons Cache

Some No Longer Wait

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.

Sometimes two can speak volumes...


Homecoming


mourning

News Reel

No matter how much we read or see on TV it can't compare to the news reel playing in his head. We can't even come close to understanding the emotions he feels unless we've experienced it too. I write because I want to come close to his reality and I want others to at least get a taste of it - the fear, the frustration, the loneliness. I think ahead to when he comes home and try to imagine how he'll feel - how he'll see the world around him, the people around him. I guess this is my way of preparing me, him - all of us for that time when he comes back and needs us to understand.

A Single Comment

"The longer you're here, the harder it gets. I've missed everything. I feel like I've missed half my life."

Isn't It Funny How the Night Moves

At night, on guard duty, the air is cooler and the breeze is refreshing. You have time to reflect. Time to think. You talk with the guy next to you about life, about goals and about the people you are thinking of back home. In these moments, gazing across the berm and the border right in front of you, you feel more alive. You feel like you've been transported home and your thoughts and dreams almost become a reality.

You're still just a kid but you experience adulthood when you're here - there's no avoiding it. The letdowns, the disappointments, the reality checks. The lose of friends, the fear, the pain. The sense of wonder you experienced as a kid is gone and it's replaced by a harshness that only reality can produce.

But at night on guard duty you can try to recapture what you feel you've lost. The dreams return, the future is just over the horizon and the sun never sets on dreams. They are out there just in front of you but for the moment just out of reach. You think about the things you will accomplish, the places you will visit and the opportunities you will be given.

It's ironic how this war and all the deep pain it's shown you and led you to experience gives you a hope for the future. A hope that maybe you never would have experienced back in the comforts of home, the security of family and the concerns of daily life. It's only through a sacrifice such as the one you are making that the true measure of a man can be found. It's only through sacrifice that you discover how truly precious life is and you come to understand how many wonderful years you still have to live. It sometimes takes many years for others to discover what you've discovered at such a young age.

War changes you, it's inevitable - it can't be denied. But then again, have you really changed? Or have you just been rearranged? You are still you. You will never see things the same way as those who have never experienced war. Your experiences change the way you view the world. It's how you deal with the difference that sets the course for the future. You come back a different man. You hope you're a better man. And you hope that the lessons you've learned aren't washed away by civilian life and that you can hold on to them.

But right now, as your eyes wander along the border, reality crawls back into your thoughts and push the dreams into the recesses of your mind. The night moves back in. You know they are still there. You'll bring them out again and play with them - maybe tomorrow night.

_______________________________________

It's seems that "leave" was a decade ago. While he was home, we had many hours to talk, and during our discussions some of the things he said continue to turn over in my mind. Today my thoughts went back to those things and I made an attempt at putting them down in black and white.

Fire! and Fire!

"We were on our way to Mosul today and Ray's Stryker caught on fire."
"You mean just started burning?"
"Yeah - after it happened we just sat there and laughed, it was hilarious."

Not exactly the reaction I expected but then again I hadn't heard the entire story.

A combination of high temperatures - in the 100's - and delaying routine maintenance causes problems. Heavy Stryker use stresses things like belts, hoses and connectors adding to the potential for problems.

A trip to Mosul didn't go without incident on Sunday. Another driver who also transferred to HHT from Bronco Troop, was driving in front of him when smoke started pouring out of every opening and from underneath the Stryker. The crew bailed out of the smoking Stryker as flames started licking up through the engine grills. Ray, the last guy out, punched on the Halon fire extinguishers.

At this point, everyone is dead serious about the situation. A close call, but no one hurt. Ray and the vehicle commander go up to the Stryker and unlatch the engine cover and swing it open. As soon as the air reaches the fuel spilled on the hot engine from a burst fuel line the flames burst back into life. They fell over each other getting out of the way of the fire as it burst out of the opening. Another punch on the Halon and the fire is out for good.

Once it's known that every one is safe and no one got burned the absurdity of seeing the two Soldier's tripping over each other takes over where fear and worry had just rested. One Soldier starts laughing as he thinks about what he'd just witnessed and soon the entire compliment of Soldiers is laughing. From Privates all the way up to the Colonel. The laughter calms their nerves.

The entire group waits there on the highway for a tow from Tal Afar - watchful for an attack on the stationery Strykers. Once the Stryker is loaded up and on it's way back to Tal Afar the rest of the Strykers move out for Mosul. The excitement for the day is far from over, however. Shortly after arriving in Mosul the base is under attack by Iraqi rockets.

"And we got hit by rockets shortly after getting there. Well, not "we" exactly but they attacked the base and "we" just happened to be there. Lucky us."

Two large rockets arc in over the wall and impact on the other side of a couple of buildings near where the Strykers had parked. The explosions rock the ground and the pressure waves kick up dust as they move through the air. The buildings take the brunt of the explosive force and block all but the highest flying pieces of shrapnel. Smoke and dust rise up over the roof of the buildings. No one is hurt in the attack but it still has it's effect on the men and women in the FOB. They think - next time they may not all be so lucky.