We Sleep Safe...

"We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm." -George Orwell

Won't Give In...

You call me up and I'll say a few words
But I'll try not to speak too long
Please to be kind and I'll try to explain
I'll probably get it all wrong
What does it mean when you promise someone
That no matter how hard or whatever may come

It means that I won't give in, won't give in, won't give in
'Cause everyone I love is here
Play it once and it disappears.

Once in a while I return to the fold
With people I call my own
Even if time is just a flicker of light
And we all have to die alone
What does it mean when you belong to someone
When you're born with a name, when you carry it on

It means that I won't give in, won't give in, won't give in
'Cause everyone I love is here
All at once, and I'll show you how to get here

I really don't know why, but when I heard this song by Neil Finn it meant something to me - it touched a nerve. I suppose in light of everything that's happened to us up to this point it means facing things with a strength born from love, from family.

Kiowa Down

The Kiowa helicopter arched in over the fierce fighting going on down below in the city streets. The pilot and co-pilot calling in targeting information and directing friendly traffic and attack.

Suddenly a loud bang breaks their concentration. They had just taken fire from the ground below them, and that's pretty common - but this time it's a bit different. A RPG had streaked up from the ground and hit the Kiowa just behind the engine. Neither of them have been hit but something very critical on their chopper has been hit. Lubricant pressure was dropping, RPM's were falling off! They were going down! They had to put down now! They had to get the helicopter on the ground as quickly as possible. They were going down right in the center of hostile territory.

Talking to commanders on the ground they quickly explain their problem and their location. Even before the chopper is on the ground a Stryker team is on it's way to the landing site. The Stryker team using not only their computer GPS system but the rising smoke from the downed Kiowa to lead them in. The chopper lands in a dense urban area. Just as the chopper comes down a group of Iraqi insurgents in a building nearby begins to fire on the downed chopper. The pilots take cover and draw their service pistols preparing for the worst. They need help and they need it ten minutes ago. Radio communication from the ground troops assure the pilots that they know where they are and that help is on the way.

The 4 vehicle Stryker scout team rounds the corner, flies down the street and charges into a firefight, one vehicle immediately places it's bulk between the chopper and it's attackers. Additional small arms fire then comes at them from even more buildings. The helicopter, it's crew and theStryker vehicles are caught in the open surrounded by insurgents - taking fire. They return fire and call for reinforcements. The helicopter was on fire and the tail had crushed a brick wall into rubble. RPGs streak out from all directions. The commander at the scene loses count after the first 15 streak into their position and they continue to come.

A second Stryker team is already in route and they too enter the kill zone around the helicopter. The disabled helicopter acts as a magnet for the attacking Iraqi's - they appear in droves, carrying RPG's and light machine guns. The eight Strykers set up overlapping fields of fire and use their fifties to blast away at the surrounding buildings. An RPG streaks out from a nearby building and impacts low against the side of one of the Strykers taking out the transmission on that side - crippling it.

The problem has suddenly gone from bad to worse. Now the Ghost Riders had not only a disabled helicopter but a disabled Stryker as well. More RPG's and mortar rounds are added to the chaos. The Strykers are absorbing more and more lead as the fight continues on. Shrapnel turns out to be more dangerous than the bullets flying at them and several Soldiers are wounded by slivers of metal. The two rescued pilots are almost killed when a mortar round lands right along side the medical Stryker.

Additional units move in and a squeeze is placed on their attackers. A single Stryker sniper team takes out 16 enemy fighters in the first twenty minutes, using urban combat techniques learned back home the Stryker troops begin to take back the area, they take the buildings away from the attackers one at a time, forcing the Iraqi's to retreat.

The Strykers had to extract themselves and the damaged equipment out of the area all the while taking fire from every direction. They weren't leaving - they were staying until the fighting was over.

Two F-16 roll in for an attack on the gathering insurgents. A 2000lb bunkerbuster bomb is dropped within yards of the Strykers. Under the cover of the bombs concussion the Soldiers move in and start taking buildings away form the enemy. A camera drone aircraft above the fighting shows even more insurgents moving up to the area. They are removing RPGs from a pickup and the trunks of cars.

A TOW missle equipped Stryker moves up and fires off two TOW rounds. One hits a wall and takes out five insurgents, another impacts a pickup. The Strykers now have the upper hand.

The fight rages on for over four hours. As many as fifty insurgents are killed and the Strykers take some hits but no one is killed.

Six of the Strykers that made the initial rescue attempt are damaged in the battle. All but one can RTB (Return To Base) under their own power.

The fighting had been so heavy that Soldiers were outside the vehicles distributing ammo to heavies (50 Caliber Machine Guns) that had run out.

When considering the fierceness of the battle waged that morning in Tal Afar it's amazing that no Soldiers were killed though several were wounded, including the two pilots. Fifty insurgents dead and 40 wounded.

The True Lesson

A few lessons learned.

Like, you can take a "shower" with only two bottles of water, if that's all you have. Also, when you're dealing with Iraqis, it's good to use phrases that contain the word "Allah." And don't use too much soap when washing socks by hand. You'll be rinsing forever. Check your boots for scorpions before you put them on. And never pick up a metal handled tool that's been sitting in the sun too long.

But perhaps the biggest lesson learned is that life offers no guarantees.

Being in a war zone makes you completely - totally - aware of your own mortality. We all know we're going to die someday, right? But certainly not today. Surely not now.

That's supposed to happen when we're old.
After we've married...
and had kids...
and a dog...
and grandkids...
and are retired...
all those things.
Only when we've accomplished all we wanted to in life.

But that's not to say you fearfully walk around dwelling on death all the time. Most of the time you don't even think about it. You just go about your daily business, but with the knowledge that we are all just passing through in this world. With the understanding that your visitor status can be revoked at any time.

When the mortars fall close, the explosion shakes the earth and rattles the walls. It's a deep, reverberating sound you feel all around you, all through you. It's like a bass beat from a stereo, a beat that you know has the potential to kill you. The shock wave throws the dusty fine Iraqi sand up in it's wake so that you not only feel it's destructive power, you can see it. Hot jagged metal flies by your head announcing it's passing with a buzz.

That's the moment you think about death.

When a bomb goes off under your vehicle the shock of the explosion throws you around like a rag doll. There's no sound just a concussion that stops your heart. If you escape with only bruises, cuts, scrapes and at least half your hearing you consider yourself lucky. There have been so many others who weren't nearly as lucky. Every time you have a close call you thank God and you thank the GM engineers.

That's the moment you think about death.

It's not so much that you think you're going to die in Iraq. It's just that you've come to understand how easy it really is.

To die.

How simple it is. How uncomplicated. How ordinary. So you make yourself promises of things to do when you get home. That's when you decide to live the life you truly want. That's when you form dreams that you hope can become reality. And that's when you realize that no matter how long you live - it'll be too short.

And those little things that used to seem like big problems just don't matter anymore. They just seem trivial. Because now, when you have a problem, you ask yourself, "Is this going to kill me or cripple me?".

If the answer is no, then it probably really doesn't matter.

Stryker Soldiers Survive IED

The Stryker has been getting mixed reviews from people here in the US. Many say it isn't any good - not heavy enough armor, too big for air transport, not heavy enough fire power - the list goes on and on.

However, the Soldiers of Stryker Brigade have fallen in love with their new vehicle. Maybe the reason why is shown in the picture below. This photo was taken of a Stryker Combat Vehicle that not only survived a 500 pound roadside bomb but was able to maneuver under it's own power after the blast!

There were five Soldiers in the vehicle when it hit the IED. Not a single one was hurt.

A Soldier who witnessed the explosion said the Stryker flipped over one and a half times and then skidded on it's left side about 30 feet down the highway. When it came to a stop it was facing in the opposite direction. This car bomb was so powerful that the shock wave knocked out light bulbs in the pods of soldiers at the Stryker base nearly a mile away.

When the Stryker was flipped back on it's wheels (no easy feat), it was still able to move under its own power. The recovery crew drove it the remaining distance to the base. Hooah!

Damaged!