Thursday, May 24, 2007
1 april 2007
Hey-
Wanted to share a couple pictures with you guys; let you see what part of the town looks like. I know when I arrived here I had no idea what the city was going to look like, and a lot of it really surprised me.
The first picture is looking across the bridge spanning the Euphrates that we took the Bradleys across (somewhat skeptical if it would hold the weight). This is the only bridge in the area that crosses the river, so it is very important to us that it remains intact and safe. Along the Euphrates is quite a sight; first off there are actually things growing! Some of the houses along the river are amazing, and have a spectacular view. Not everyone can say their house overlooks a river believed to be one of the oldest in the world. The far bank is lined with palm groves; however, once beyond the groves, vegitation quickly dies out.
Pic #2 is looking up river towards what most of us believe are the ruins of an ancient Roman foot bridge. Iraq was part of the Roman Empire until sometime in the 8th century AD, when the spread of Islam began the collapse of the Eastern Roman Empire, and would spread as far west as Venice, North Africa and eventually parts of Spain. It is amazing to be seeing such sights, but the ruins also bring to mind an interesting question; since the ousting of the Romans, how much has actually changed? This town is a culture shock all of its own, as the people here live both in the 21st and 8th centuries; most houses have electricity, a satellite dish for cable tv, cars in the garage, and children go to school, however the people still wear the same garb as they did back then (robes and sandals), and the culture hasn't changed much since the invasion of Islam. Everywhere you look is a collision of two worlds, two very different periods of time.
Pic 3 is one of the mosques we can see from a building we occupy in town, as well as part of the street. It doesn't quite give the full picture of what the streets in town look like; most of them have much more trash.
The last pic is of the mosque right across the street from our outpost in town. This is the one that blares the "call to prayer" into our windows 5 times a day. You can see the speakers about 3/4 of the way up the spire. This pic offers a more typical view of the buildings that line the streets.
On further escapades through the city, I'll try to get some pictures that give an accurate representation of what it looks like on the streets or in the market.
Hope you enjoy a glimpse of our town!
More to follow soon,
Troy
31 march
Below is a newsletter to our Family Readiness Group (FRG) from Troy ’s B Company Commander CPT Fitch.
Tim
Another six weeks down here. A lot has happened in the last few weeks. Our Company went through a RIP (Relief-in-Place) of the Company that was previously serving in Hit. The RIP consisted of a few parts. The first phase was building our combat power, getting all of our soldiers here to Firm Base 1, getting our vehicles and containers shipped here, and getting acclimated to our new home away from home. Some of the things we have had to acclimate to include the weather, our living conditions, getting used to all of the systems here (chow, showers, daily operations, etc...),and studying maps in order to better learn our new battle space. Upon our arrival, we conducted a right seat ride with A Co. 1-36 Infantry Regiment. Initially they continued operations with our leaders going on missions with them. On 5 February, we completely took charge of the AO.
Initially, our Company spent a lot of time inventorying all of the property we were taking over: HMWWVs, Sniper Rifles, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, radios, etc... Nothing glamorous, but certainly something necessary. Soldiers for the most part, spent their time improving the defenses on our bases; Firm Base 1 for 1st and 3rd platoons, and on COP-3 for 2nd Platoon. Meanwhile, the Headquarters soldiers spent time learning how to run and support the Company's day to day operations while leaders shadowed their outgoing counterparts in order to observe their tactics. The days were long, usually starting work at around 8 AM and getting to bed around 1 AM, but we knew we had a lot to learn and didn't want to waste the few days we had with the soldiers who had been on this terrain for the past year. They certainly had a lot of useful information to pass on and we incorporated that into how we would run our daily operations.
The city of Hit and the surrounding areas (Haditha, Ramadi, Fallujah) have consistently been the worst areas in the country. Yes, you hear a lot of stuff about Baghdad , but don't forget, its a city of 8 million people. Also, since the Green Zone is there, that's where all of the reporters live, since for the vast majority of reporters, they are too scared, won't, or aren't allowed to travel to most parts of the country (especially places like Hit). A/1-36 lost a large number of Bradley Fighting Vehicles here due to mostly IEDs. They also had a lot of small arms contact (AK-47s mostly), snipers, etc... All in all, not a very friendly place. Our company wasn't nervous, but we certainly knew we would find ourselves in bad situations eventually.
Initially, we were expecting a crazy time. Often, the insurgents will "test" new units by launching an unusually large number of attacks when a unit first arrives there. We prepared up for a slew of IEDs, sniper attacks, and mortars, but so far, it hasn't come. The lack of enemy activity, I believe, can be attributed to our proactive approach to things here. We had a Marine Company attached to us that discovered a large number of caches south of Hit which severely disrupted enemy activity and we just completed a large operation where we supported the IPs in clearing the city of insurgents and establishing an outer cordon to keep them out. The cordon, in conjunction with our proactive patrolling, has kept the enemy at bay for the time being.
At this point, we have been away for about 6 weeks. We have pretty much settled into our daily routines and have held down the fort. 2nd Platoon does not live with us, but they are only about a mile away and they visit every day. They are fairly self-sufficient and enjoy being on the Euphrates River . They grill their own food from time to time and return to FB1 for their fair share of supplies and meetings. Please do not worry, they do have sufficient food and water!
The soldiers here are in pretty high morale, all things considered. The food has gotten better and MRE's have not been a part of our daily diet. We are slowly improving in the cleanliness, which is difficult considering that we burn all of our trash. Furthermore, burning refuse (take on drum of refuse, add gasoline, light, and stir) 24/7 leaves a particularly unpleasant odor hanging throughout the building, and that smell never seems to go away. On the bright side though, you actually start to get used to it. The other thing that is keeping morale high is being on a Firm Base on our own. I know it sounds crazy, but I would rather be here right now than at any of the huge, plush bases in Iraq , even the ones that have Burger Kings, KBR-run chow halls, and porcelain toilets.
With all things considered, we are proud of each other and the loved ones that support our efforts. Thank you for your support. Continue to send your blessings and prayers for our same return home.
Tim
Another six weeks down here. A lot has happened in the last few weeks. Our Company went through a RIP (Relief-in-Place) of the Company that was previously serving in Hit. The RIP consisted of a few parts. The first phase was building our combat power, getting all of our soldiers here to Firm Base 1, getting our vehicles and containers shipped here, and getting acclimated to our new home away from home. Some of the things we have had to acclimate to include the weather, our living conditions, getting used to all of the systems here (chow, showers, daily operations, etc...),and studying maps in order to better learn our new battle space. Upon our arrival, we conducted a right seat ride with A Co. 1-36 Infantry Regiment. Initially they continued operations with our leaders going on missions with them. On 5 February, we completely took charge of the AO.
Initially, our Company spent a lot of time inventorying all of the property we were taking over: HMWWVs, Sniper Rifles, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, radios, etc... Nothing glamorous, but certainly something necessary. Soldiers for the most part, spent their time improving the defenses on our bases; Firm Base 1 for 1st and 3rd platoons, and on COP-3 for 2nd Platoon. Meanwhile, the Headquarters soldiers spent time learning how to run and support the Company's day to day operations while leaders shadowed their outgoing counterparts in order to observe their tactics. The days were long, usually starting work at around 8 AM and getting to bed around 1 AM, but we knew we had a lot to learn and didn't want to waste the few days we had with the soldiers who had been on this terrain for the past year. They certainly had a lot of useful information to pass on and we incorporated that into how we would run our daily operations.
The city of Hit and the surrounding areas (Haditha, Ramadi, Fallujah) have consistently been the worst areas in the country. Yes, you hear a lot of stuff about Baghdad , but don't forget, its a city of 8 million people. Also, since the Green Zone is there, that's where all of the reporters live, since for the vast majority of reporters, they are too scared, won't, or aren't allowed to travel to most parts of the country (especially places like Hit). A/1-36 lost a large number of Bradley Fighting Vehicles here due to mostly IEDs. They also had a lot of small arms contact (AK-47s mostly), snipers, etc... All in all, not a very friendly place. Our company wasn't nervous, but we certainly knew we would find ourselves in bad situations eventually.
Initially, we were expecting a crazy time. Often, the insurgents will "test" new units by launching an unusually large number of attacks when a unit first arrives there. We prepared up for a slew of IEDs, sniper attacks, and mortars, but so far, it hasn't come. The lack of enemy activity, I believe, can be attributed to our proactive approach to things here. We had a Marine Company attached to us that discovered a large number of caches south of Hit which severely disrupted enemy activity and we just completed a large operation where we supported the IPs in clearing the city of insurgents and establishing an outer cordon to keep them out. The cordon, in conjunction with our proactive patrolling, has kept the enemy at bay for the time being.
At this point, we have been away for about 6 weeks. We have pretty much settled into our daily routines and have held down the fort. 2nd Platoon does not live with us, but they are only about a mile away and they visit every day. They are fairly self-sufficient and enjoy being on the Euphrates River . They grill their own food from time to time and return to FB1 for their fair share of supplies and meetings. Please do not worry, they do have sufficient food and water!
The soldiers here are in pretty high morale, all things considered. The food has gotten better and MRE's have not been a part of our daily diet. We are slowly improving in the cleanliness, which is difficult considering that we burn all of our trash. Furthermore, burning refuse (take on drum of refuse, add gasoline, light, and stir) 24/7 leaves a particularly unpleasant odor hanging throughout the building, and that smell never seems to go away. On the bright side though, you actually start to get used to it. The other thing that is keeping morale high is being on a Firm Base on our own. I know it sounds crazy, but I would rather be here right now than at any of the huge, plush bases in Iraq , even the ones that have Burger Kings, KBR-run chow halls, and porcelain toilets.
With all things considered, we are proud of each other and the loved ones that support our efforts. Thank you for your support. Continue to send your blessings and prayers for our same return home.
18 march
Ok, so this was too funny not to write home about.
I get woken up this morning around 6:30 because theres a mission and their platoon medic had been out most of the night. I took it so he could get some sleep. It was just supposed to be a patrol that normally lasts a couple hours. This was not to be.
Things started out well; we left at about 7am and stopped in town, spoke to some of the residents and gave out a bunch of candy to the kids. On our way between our second and third stops we get a call that we need to respond way to the south because another company is apparently taking some sniper fire. Ok...no problem. We roll out there and attempt to set up some security. Here's where things go wrong. While trying to position the Bradleys we have to roll through some pretty serious mud. Anyone who's gone mudding before knows not to follow in the leading vehicles tracks or else you might get high-centered and end up stuck. Apparently, the same theory applies out here as well. Cruising along in the mud, our 35-ton Bradley grinds to an abrupt halt. I'm thinking that there's no way we can get a Brad stuck...I'm wrong. No amount of rocking or steering is going to get us out of this quagmire. Figuring that this will be a simple fix, we hook our tow cable to the other vehicle and they begin to pull us out. It works...at first. We end up stuck for a second time. As they move around for a better position, they get stuck! Trying every trick we can think of succeeds only in covering a number of us in mud. So, our pride bruised, we hop on the radio and call for the wrecker. They head towards us, with the commander as well. Great. They made easy work of freeing us from the muck as this wrecker is designed to pull tanks weighing double that of a Bradley. While we had been trying to free ourselves, two more Bradleys got stuck several miles down the road. As a convoy, we all head towards the immobilized Brads. There's nothing for us to do, and at that point we'd been gone about 6 hours so we broke out the MRE's (meals ready to eat) and had lunch while we waited for the wrecker to do its job. Then we get the radio call...now the wrecker's stuck, and the track on the commander's Bradley has slipped off. All 5 of us in the back of our Brad looked up from our food and just shook our head. Yep, that figures. The wrecker has a giant winch on the front, and apparently managed to free itself, though the two Bradleys were still suck, and the track needed to be fixed on a third. Over the course of the next two and a half hours, they finally managed to unstick and fix all the vehicles, while managing to stick and free a humvee in the process. At long last we were able to return to base, slightly muddy if nothing else. All in all, 4 Bradleys (one of them twice), 1 wrecker and a humvee all ended up stuck in the mud; and that was just our company. Others from the rest of our battalion were having the same problems. We finally rolled back onto base at 3:45; eight hours and fourty-five minutes after we left that morning.
Since I left in a hurry this morning, I didn't get the chance to shave. I tried taking care of that as soon as I got back. I managed to shave half my face before the battery on my razor ran out of juice. I had to pull the razor (and a number of hairs) off my face so I could recharge it. Deciding I didn't want to walk around half-shorn, I finished with a blade and called it good.
That's been my day so far. But, if this is the worst my days will ever get, I think I'll be ok with that. However, I think I'm going to head back to the aid station and attempt to avoid any other "email worthy" incidents.
Hope all is well with everyone!!!
Troy
I get woken up this morning around 6:30 because theres a mission and their platoon medic had been out most of the night. I took it so he could get some sleep. It was just supposed to be a patrol that normally lasts a couple hours. This was not to be.
Things started out well; we left at about 7am and stopped in town, spoke to some of the residents and gave out a bunch of candy to the kids. On our way between our second and third stops we get a call that we need to respond way to the south because another company is apparently taking some sniper fire. Ok...no problem. We roll out there and attempt to set up some security. Here's where things go wrong. While trying to position the Bradleys we have to roll through some pretty serious mud. Anyone who's gone mudding before knows not to follow in the leading vehicles tracks or else you might get high-centered and end up stuck. Apparently, the same theory applies out here as well. Cruising along in the mud, our 35-ton Bradley grinds to an abrupt halt. I'm thinking that there's no way we can get a Brad stuck...I'm wrong. No amount of rocking or steering is going to get us out of this quagmire. Figuring that this will be a simple fix, we hook our tow cable to the other vehicle and they begin to pull us out. It works...at first. We end up stuck for a second time. As they move around for a better position, they get stuck! Trying every trick we can think of succeeds only in covering a number of us in mud. So, our pride bruised, we hop on the radio and call for the wrecker. They head towards us, with the commander as well. Great. They made easy work of freeing us from the muck as this wrecker is designed to pull tanks weighing double that of a Bradley. While we had been trying to free ourselves, two more Bradleys got stuck several miles down the road. As a convoy, we all head towards the immobilized Brads. There's nothing for us to do, and at that point we'd been gone about 6 hours so we broke out the MRE's (meals ready to eat) and had lunch while we waited for the wrecker to do its job. Then we get the radio call...now the wrecker's stuck, and the track on the commander's Bradley has slipped off. All 5 of us in the back of our Brad looked up from our food and just shook our head. Yep, that figures. The wrecker has a giant winch on the front, and apparently managed to free itself, though the two Bradleys were still suck, and the track needed to be fixed on a third. Over the course of the next two and a half hours, they finally managed to unstick and fix all the vehicles, while managing to stick and free a humvee in the process. At long last we were able to return to base, slightly muddy if nothing else. All in all, 4 Bradleys (one of them twice), 1 wrecker and a humvee all ended up stuck in the mud; and that was just our company. Others from the rest of our battalion were having the same problems. We finally rolled back onto base at 3:45; eight hours and fourty-five minutes after we left that morning.
Since I left in a hurry this morning, I didn't get the chance to shave. I tried taking care of that as soon as I got back. I managed to shave half my face before the battery on my razor ran out of juice. I had to pull the razor (and a number of hairs) off my face so I could recharge it. Deciding I didn't want to walk around half-shorn, I finished with a blade and called it good.
That's been my day so far. But, if this is the worst my days will ever get, I think I'll be ok with that. However, I think I'm going to head back to the aid station and attempt to avoid any other "email worthy" incidents.
Hope all is well with everyone!!!
Troy
16 march
The following newsletter is from one of the 2-7 In Commanders to the families of the Soldiers serving in Iraq .
Tim
Greetings from Camp Hit in the Al Anbar Province of Iraq ! It’s now March and we can’t believe how fast time has gone by! After spending about 2 ½ weeks completing our training in Kuwait , the Task Force moved north under the control of MAJ T.K. Kelly and CSM Sam Coston while the company commanders and I attended a counterinsurgency training course in Taji , Iraq . It was a challenging, but well executed movement and all Cottonbalers arrived safely to begin our relief in place with TF 1-36 IN near the end of January.
Just over a week later, we officially took control of the sector and your Cottonbalers began making our new home into their home and improving all our positions. We also began to engage with both the local Iraqi leaders and the Iraqi population in our area. I had many hours of discussions in dimly lit, smoke-filled rooms; drinking chai (tea) with my Iraqi counterparts from the city of Hit, the Iraqi Police, and the Iraqi Army. It became clear to us that the people of Hit wanted to take steps to improve security and that there were some potential opportunities we could exploit. The previous unit, TF 1-36 IN had worked hard to bring the situation to a point where these opportunities presented themselves. Two days before we officially took over, we conceived the basic plan for an operation where we would support the local Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) while they cleared the city of Hit of what they viewed as a relatively small number of terrorists and foreign fighters. Just 8 days after assuming control of the sector, TF 2-7 IN and our local ISF launched OPERATION SHURTA NASIR (Police Victory). The operation lasted about 4 days and addressed not only the Iraqi Police goal of killing or capturing many remaining terrorists operating in the town, but also our goal of establishing two additional police stations and several key checkpoints in and around the city of Hit . By nearly tripling the police facilities in the city and helping to design almost a “gated community” in Hit, it was our hope that they could better maintain security after the clearing operation…and as of this writing, our plan has worked.
We’re now spending our time assisting the Iraqi Police force in improving each of the new positions we seized during the operation. In order to guard against the likely insurgent counterattacks, each station or checkpoint requires considerable force protection materials in the form of sandbags for bunkers, wire to control pedestrian access, and concrete barriers to control vehicle access. Your Cottonbalers have spent a great deal of their time and energy helping gather, deliver, and place these materials to ensure the success of our Iraqi partners.
Immediately following the operation which involved a 3-day pedestrian and vehicle curfew for the 40,000 inhabitants of Hit, I met with the fledgling city council and then over 30 sheikhs representing the diverse tribal network of the city. The people were very pleased with the security situation, but naturally brought up the problems you would expect when the infrastructure of a war-torn city has been neglected for months. The city mayor and I attempted to appeal to the people to work together to clean up the town and rapidly repair the infrastructure. The next day, I suggested the city mayor, the chief of police, and I take a daylight walk through the Hit city market and then down a portion of the city’s main street to demonstrate our confidence in the city’s security situation and show the people we were a team committed to improve their quality of life. This singular event achieved results far beyond what I had imagined and truly threw everyone for a loop – including the enemy and the local population.
Word spread of the situation in Hit in the days and weeks that followed as we reached security levels which hadn’t been experienced here for nearly a year. Along with their Iraqi partners, our Soldiers now patrol the streets of Hit day and night both mounted (in vehicles) and dismounted (walking). They engage with the population everyday and are learning every street, alley, tribe, family, shop, etc. in their sectors. The terrorists have tried to rain on our parade a few times, but as of this writing, our Iraqi partners have remained strong and we take steps everyday to help them succeed. As a team, we remain on the offensive whenever possible since defending against a terrorist attack is very often futile. Instead, we’re going after their resources and making the environment unattractive to them through our joint presence, hardened facilities, ever-improving infrastructure, and the support of a population confident we’ll take care of them. Clearly, Iraqi success is our success at this point and much of our time day is spent acting as facilitators, teachers, coaches, mentors, social workers, psychiatrists, or judges for our Iraqi partners. Though their culture is much different from ours, they do have a tremendous desire to succeed and are not shrinking from the dangerous tasks they perform everyday.
Though the bulk of TF 2-7 IN is here in Hit, we have two platoons of our C Co serving with TF 3-69 AR and one platoon serving with TF 5-7 Cav – both in Ramadi. We also have a squad from B Co serving as the personal security detachment for the Brigade Commander – also in Ramadi. We keep close tabs on them and by all accounts, they’re doing great work…and, of course, you and I would expect nothing less!
As always, we appreciate the tremendous support we receive from both the Rear Detachment, led by CPT Neil Johnson and SFC Frank Miller, and the Cottonbaler Family Readiness Group. We appreciated the Valentines cards, the baked goods, and all the other “surprises” you’ve been sending our way! Thanks to all the true heroes who graciously volunteer your time and energy to take care of our Soldiers!
Before you know it, April will be upon us, and we’ll be sending our first Soldiers back home for R&R leave!
LTC Doug Crissman…Able 6
Tim
Greetings from Camp Hit in the Al Anbar Province of Iraq ! It’s now March and we can’t believe how fast time has gone by! After spending about 2 ½ weeks completing our training in Kuwait , the Task Force moved north under the control of MAJ T.K. Kelly and CSM Sam Coston while the company commanders and I attended a counterinsurgency training course in Taji , Iraq . It was a challenging, but well executed movement and all Cottonbalers arrived safely to begin our relief in place with TF 1-36 IN near the end of January.
Just over a week later, we officially took control of the sector and your Cottonbalers began making our new home into their home and improving all our positions. We also began to engage with both the local Iraqi leaders and the Iraqi population in our area. I had many hours of discussions in dimly lit, smoke-filled rooms; drinking chai (tea) with my Iraqi counterparts from the city of Hit, the Iraqi Police, and the Iraqi Army. It became clear to us that the people of Hit wanted to take steps to improve security and that there were some potential opportunities we could exploit. The previous unit, TF 1-36 IN had worked hard to bring the situation to a point where these opportunities presented themselves. Two days before we officially took over, we conceived the basic plan for an operation where we would support the local Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) while they cleared the city of Hit of what they viewed as a relatively small number of terrorists and foreign fighters. Just 8 days after assuming control of the sector, TF 2-7 IN and our local ISF launched OPERATION SHURTA NASIR (Police Victory). The operation lasted about 4 days and addressed not only the Iraqi Police goal of killing or capturing many remaining terrorists operating in the town, but also our goal of establishing two additional police stations and several key checkpoints in and around the city of Hit . By nearly tripling the police facilities in the city and helping to design almost a “gated community” in Hit, it was our hope that they could better maintain security after the clearing operation…and as of this writing, our plan has worked.
We’re now spending our time assisting the Iraqi Police force in improving each of the new positions we seized during the operation. In order to guard against the likely insurgent counterattacks, each station or checkpoint requires considerable force protection materials in the form of sandbags for bunkers, wire to control pedestrian access, and concrete barriers to control vehicle access. Your Cottonbalers have spent a great deal of their time and energy helping gather, deliver, and place these materials to ensure the success of our Iraqi partners.
Immediately following the operation which involved a 3-day pedestrian and vehicle curfew for the 40,000 inhabitants of Hit, I met with the fledgling city council and then over 30 sheikhs representing the diverse tribal network of the city. The people were very pleased with the security situation, but naturally brought up the problems you would expect when the infrastructure of a war-torn city has been neglected for months. The city mayor and I attempted to appeal to the people to work together to clean up the town and rapidly repair the infrastructure. The next day, I suggested the city mayor, the chief of police, and I take a daylight walk through the Hit city market and then down a portion of the city’s main street to demonstrate our confidence in the city’s security situation and show the people we were a team committed to improve their quality of life. This singular event achieved results far beyond what I had imagined and truly threw everyone for a loop – including the enemy and the local population.
Word spread of the situation in Hit in the days and weeks that followed as we reached security levels which hadn’t been experienced here for nearly a year. Along with their Iraqi partners, our Soldiers now patrol the streets of Hit day and night both mounted (in vehicles) and dismounted (walking). They engage with the population everyday and are learning every street, alley, tribe, family, shop, etc. in their sectors. The terrorists have tried to rain on our parade a few times, but as of this writing, our Iraqi partners have remained strong and we take steps everyday to help them succeed. As a team, we remain on the offensive whenever possible since defending against a terrorist attack is very often futile. Instead, we’re going after their resources and making the environment unattractive to them through our joint presence, hardened facilities, ever-improving infrastructure, and the support of a population confident we’ll take care of them. Clearly, Iraqi success is our success at this point and much of our time day is spent acting as facilitators, teachers, coaches, mentors, social workers, psychiatrists, or judges for our Iraqi partners. Though their culture is much different from ours, they do have a tremendous desire to succeed and are not shrinking from the dangerous tasks they perform everyday.
Though the bulk of TF 2-7 IN is here in Hit, we have two platoons of our C Co serving with TF 3-69 AR and one platoon serving with TF 5-7 Cav – both in Ramadi. We also have a squad from B Co serving as the personal security detachment for the Brigade Commander – also in Ramadi. We keep close tabs on them and by all accounts, they’re doing great work…and, of course, you and I would expect nothing less!
As always, we appreciate the tremendous support we receive from both the Rear Detachment, led by CPT Neil Johnson and SFC Frank Miller, and the Cottonbaler Family Readiness Group. We appreciated the Valentines cards, the baked goods, and all the other “surprises” you’ve been sending our way! Thanks to all the true heroes who graciously volunteer your time and energy to take care of our Soldiers!
Before you know it, April will be upon us, and we’ll be sending our first Soldiers back home for R&R leave!
LTC Doug Crissman…Able 6
15 march
Hi Everybody,
We finally finished our mission rotation, which had us all over our entire sector. For two days we were out at the IP station across the Euphrates, helping with the recruitment of new policemen. In order to get there, we had to cross the bridge in town; we had done it in humvee's but they wanted us to take Bradleys across. There's just a little bit of weight difference, even if the humvee's are up-armored. A Brad weighs in right around 35 tons...and this bridge doesn't inspire a whole lot of confidence. True, the bracings and beams are all steel, but the decking itself is just sheet metal tack-welded in place. No one was looking forward to this crossing. The dismounted guys (myself included) were going to get out of the Bradley, walk across and pull security as they drove over. Being on the ground gave us a little more confidence; so much so that we were joking with the vehicle crews about making sure they wore the little arm-floaties before they tried driving over. I suggested dropping a brick on the gas pedal, sitting on the top and steering with a broom-handle. Despite our helpful suggestions, the crews decided that they would only drive with the hatches open in case they did take an unexpected dip in the Euphrates. In the end, we all made it across safely. The one thing I did notice as we walked across was that the Euphrates is a lot cleaner than I had imagined. The water is very clear, and doesn't have a brown tinge at all; in fact it looks almost turquoise. The guys that had been over before had all told us how dirty the Tigris was up near Tikrit, and I think most of us were expecting the Euphrates to follow suit. However, it is very clean looking, though this may be because it is larger and faster flowing than the Tigris. Every time we crossed you could see people along the bank fishing, and near the bridge was a large flock of what appeared to be Coot.
Once safely on the other side we went to work; the infantry guys set up their security, and I went inside the compound to see about the days events. Turns out they needed another medic to help with applicant physicals; let me tell you...that was something else. Most of the applicants appeared healthy, but that didn't lessen my concerns about tuberculosis. In addition to having almost no personal hygiene, dentistry is still slow to catch on over here. Most of their breath could have cut through a bank vault. Our physical was pretty basic; check muscle strength, eye movement, pulse at rest and after exertion, and (with some trepidation) lung sounds. Most were clear, though a couple made us wish we had a portable x-ray machine at hand; but since no one had a coughing fit, we felt (relatively) certain we'll be ok. After their physical the applicants went on to a physical fitness test; it wasn't too tough as this was just to determine if they would be accepted into the police academy. I think it was only 20 push-ups, 20 sit-ups and they had them run about 100 meters. It became immediately apparent that this is not a very physical society. There were a handful of surprises, though, as two or three of the applicants actually outran the Soldiers giving the test. Day two was much of the same, though I stayed with my guys outside on security. It always amazes me the different ways with which we keep ourselves entertained; debates over which superhero could beat the others, faults in movies we've seen, practical jokes, our plans for the future, and always stories from home. Out here, being easily amused is a virtue; especially if for the next 8 hours you'll be staring at the same stretch of road.
At first I was wondering how many people would show up to apply, but I needn't have wondered too long. There were so many applicants that we closed the gates early both days. They had filled the quota for the next class of the police academy with no problems. It was nice to see that the applicants all looked eager to be there. This may have been the fact that if accepted they would have a shot at a steady paycheck, but I'm hoping that they also were there because they want to help out their own country. Most of the residents we talk to in town sound like they trust the IP's, though we have found a couple that have had bad experiences. We're hoping to instill in them a sense of pride and integrity so that when we leave the whole system doesn't corrupt and fall apart. There is still a lot of work to be done, though. Progress is being made, though it is slow and tedious.
During the days we weren't helping at the IP station, we went for a couple foot patrols through the town. We usually hit part of the markets in town, which gives the commanders a chance to speak the the shop owners and purchase a couple items. On the last one they found a candy shop and spent a good deal of time "keeping up relations with the locals," i.e. buying a bunch of candy for cheap. Of course, we didn't know about this until later as all the joes (lower enlisted Soldiers) were on the street pulling security. The only thing we knew was that they were in a shop and took way too long, especially as this was during the warmest part of the day. We still managed to have some fun of our own; by pantomiming drinking to the owner of a shop, we had cool beverages run across the street to us by his little boy. We gave him a couple dollars and on his return trip one of my guys gave him a candy bar as well. This area of town seems much more "American-friendly" than some of the others.
At night we walk the streets again, this time knocking on doors and speaking to some of the residents. This is to get an idea of how the population feels about us, about the IP's and IA's, if they have any complaints or if anything needs to be resolved, and also to see if they know of any insurgent activity. They've usually been welcoming, and in several houses we've met people who speak English quite well. Our patrol last night had us walking across our entire sector; it wasn't too bad last night, but its not going to be fun after it gets really hot. We stopped at one house right on the banks of the Euphrates; it was nice even by our standards. Not many people can say their house looks out over one of the oldest rivers in the world. When we entered the courtyard there were 3 guys down at the rivers edge fishing and they wanted to show us their catch; its hard to tell what kind they were under night-vision, but they looked kind of like bass. I think they had 8 or 9 fish when they left. On our way back we walked through one of the markets so we don't take the same route back. In one place some of the residents had strung a volleyball net across the street and had a large game going. Its very apparent that this is a family-oriented society, and everyone in the neighborhood hangs out together in the evenings. We always surprise these groups because we try not to make much noise, and since we use night-vision we don't need flashlights; the end result is us appearing out of the shadows and causing a brief interruption of their game. As soon as we pass we heard the game start right back up, though.
After walking the town for hours we finally got back to base. Most of us had just dropped our gear and grabbed a Gatorade when we heard gun fire in the distance. This isn't uncommon, but when it kept going we realized something was up. Without even knowing what was going on we just threw our gear back on and headed to the Bradleys. (We may have been on foot for the patrol, but we knew we would take the Brads on this one.) After we loaded up we got the radio call that one of the IP stations had gotten attacked. We rolled out and took a house by the IP station; by this time the firing had ended, and we were there in case they came back or if we learned where they had gone. Apparently this house had been hosting a tupperware party or something as there were almost 30 people there. As soon as we had secured the house one of the guys (in broken English and gestures) told me he needed to go to his house because his wife was there with their baby. Why it was so important that he leave right then I never understood, after all he left her there. But in the end we escorted him and his 2 boys home which was only 4 houses down the street. By the time another Soldier and I got back from our escort trip, we were told to head to the IP station to take pics of any bullet holes in the building. I think there may have been 10. Its obvious that there was a lot more outgoing rounds than there were incoming, especially since we listened to most of the "fire fight" and it sounded like WW III had just begun. (My guess is that a couple people had taken some pot-shots at the station, and everyone in the building had returned fire.) After another hour of driving around town and securing deserted stretches of road, we were finally ordered back to base for the night.
Even though I'm off our mission rotation I'm still going out for a 24+ hr mission sometime today. We're running concurrent missions, which means for a while we're going to get even less down time. One of us has to go on the OP, and we'll have another medic out with the patrols and raids. Its not too bad, as I'd rather be out on a mission than sitting here doing nothing. If there are kids in this house they're going to make out pretty well, as I've received several bags of candy in the mail. The resiliency of the children never ceases to amaze me; these children have learned of war not through movies or tv or video games, but with their own eyes, living through it in their own town, often in their own homes. And still they smile. Hope is a powerful weapon.
Time for dinner, and after that I need to pack my gear for tonight. Since its starting to warm up I'm sure we'll be carrying more and more water as the summer drags on.
Thanks for all the emails and packages!
Be back in a couple of days,
Troy
We finally finished our mission rotation, which had us all over our entire sector. For two days we were out at the IP station across the Euphrates, helping with the recruitment of new policemen. In order to get there, we had to cross the bridge in town; we had done it in humvee's but they wanted us to take Bradleys across. There's just a little bit of weight difference, even if the humvee's are up-armored. A Brad weighs in right around 35 tons...and this bridge doesn't inspire a whole lot of confidence. True, the bracings and beams are all steel, but the decking itself is just sheet metal tack-welded in place. No one was looking forward to this crossing. The dismounted guys (myself included) were going to get out of the Bradley, walk across and pull security as they drove over. Being on the ground gave us a little more confidence; so much so that we were joking with the vehicle crews about making sure they wore the little arm-floaties before they tried driving over. I suggested dropping a brick on the gas pedal, sitting on the top and steering with a broom-handle. Despite our helpful suggestions, the crews decided that they would only drive with the hatches open in case they did take an unexpected dip in the Euphrates. In the end, we all made it across safely. The one thing I did notice as we walked across was that the Euphrates is a lot cleaner than I had imagined. The water is very clear, and doesn't have a brown tinge at all; in fact it looks almost turquoise. The guys that had been over before had all told us how dirty the Tigris was up near Tikrit, and I think most of us were expecting the Euphrates to follow suit. However, it is very clean looking, though this may be because it is larger and faster flowing than the Tigris. Every time we crossed you could see people along the bank fishing, and near the bridge was a large flock of what appeared to be Coot.
Once safely on the other side we went to work; the infantry guys set up their security, and I went inside the compound to see about the days events. Turns out they needed another medic to help with applicant physicals; let me tell you...that was something else. Most of the applicants appeared healthy, but that didn't lessen my concerns about tuberculosis. In addition to having almost no personal hygiene, dentistry is still slow to catch on over here. Most of their breath could have cut through a bank vault. Our physical was pretty basic; check muscle strength, eye movement, pulse at rest and after exertion, and (with some trepidation) lung sounds. Most were clear, though a couple made us wish we had a portable x-ray machine at hand; but since no one had a coughing fit, we felt (relatively) certain we'll be ok. After their physical the applicants went on to a physical fitness test; it wasn't too tough as this was just to determine if they would be accepted into the police academy. I think it was only 20 push-ups, 20 sit-ups and they had them run about 100 meters. It became immediately apparent that this is not a very physical society. There were a handful of surprises, though, as two or three of the applicants actually outran the Soldiers giving the test. Day two was much of the same, though I stayed with my guys outside on security. It always amazes me the different ways with which we keep ourselves entertained; debates over which superhero could beat the others, faults in movies we've seen, practical jokes, our plans for the future, and always stories from home. Out here, being easily amused is a virtue; especially if for the next 8 hours you'll be staring at the same stretch of road.
At first I was wondering how many people would show up to apply, but I needn't have wondered too long. There were so many applicants that we closed the gates early both days. They had filled the quota for the next class of the police academy with no problems. It was nice to see that the applicants all looked eager to be there. This may have been the fact that if accepted they would have a shot at a steady paycheck, but I'm hoping that they also were there because they want to help out their own country. Most of the residents we talk to in town sound like they trust the IP's, though we have found a couple that have had bad experiences. We're hoping to instill in them a sense of pride and integrity so that when we leave the whole system doesn't corrupt and fall apart. There is still a lot of work to be done, though. Progress is being made, though it is slow and tedious.
During the days we weren't helping at the IP station, we went for a couple foot patrols through the town. We usually hit part of the markets in town, which gives the commanders a chance to speak the the shop owners and purchase a couple items. On the last one they found a candy shop and spent a good deal of time "keeping up relations with the locals," i.e. buying a bunch of candy for cheap. Of course, we didn't know about this until later as all the joes (lower enlisted Soldiers) were on the street pulling security. The only thing we knew was that they were in a shop and took way too long, especially as this was during the warmest part of the day. We still managed to have some fun of our own; by pantomiming drinking to the owner of a shop, we had cool beverages run across the street to us by his little boy. We gave him a couple dollars and on his return trip one of my guys gave him a candy bar as well. This area of town seems much more "American-friendly" than some of the others.
At night we walk the streets again, this time knocking on doors and speaking to some of the residents. This is to get an idea of how the population feels about us, about the IP's and IA's, if they have any complaints or if anything needs to be resolved, and also to see if they know of any insurgent activity. They've usually been welcoming, and in several houses we've met people who speak English quite well. Our patrol last night had us walking across our entire sector; it wasn't too bad last night, but its not going to be fun after it gets really hot. We stopped at one house right on the banks of the Euphrates; it was nice even by our standards. Not many people can say their house looks out over one of the oldest rivers in the world. When we entered the courtyard there were 3 guys down at the rivers edge fishing and they wanted to show us their catch; its hard to tell what kind they were under night-vision, but they looked kind of like bass. I think they had 8 or 9 fish when they left. On our way back we walked through one of the markets so we don't take the same route back. In one place some of the residents had strung a volleyball net across the street and had a large game going. Its very apparent that this is a family-oriented society, and everyone in the neighborhood hangs out together in the evenings. We always surprise these groups because we try not to make much noise, and since we use night-vision we don't need flashlights; the end result is us appearing out of the shadows and causing a brief interruption of their game. As soon as we pass we heard the game start right back up, though.
After walking the town for hours we finally got back to base. Most of us had just dropped our gear and grabbed a Gatorade when we heard gun fire in the distance. This isn't uncommon, but when it kept going we realized something was up. Without even knowing what was going on we just threw our gear back on and headed to the Bradleys. (We may have been on foot for the patrol, but we knew we would take the Brads on this one.) After we loaded up we got the radio call that one of the IP stations had gotten attacked. We rolled out and took a house by the IP station; by this time the firing had ended, and we were there in case they came back or if we learned where they had gone. Apparently this house had been hosting a tupperware party or something as there were almost 30 people there. As soon as we had secured the house one of the guys (in broken English and gestures) told me he needed to go to his house because his wife was there with their baby. Why it was so important that he leave right then I never understood, after all he left her there. But in the end we escorted him and his 2 boys home which was only 4 houses down the street. By the time another Soldier and I got back from our escort trip, we were told to head to the IP station to take pics of any bullet holes in the building. I think there may have been 10. Its obvious that there was a lot more outgoing rounds than there were incoming, especially since we listened to most of the "fire fight" and it sounded like WW III had just begun. (My guess is that a couple people had taken some pot-shots at the station, and everyone in the building had returned fire.) After another hour of driving around town and securing deserted stretches of road, we were finally ordered back to base for the night.
Even though I'm off our mission rotation I'm still going out for a 24+ hr mission sometime today. We're running concurrent missions, which means for a while we're going to get even less down time. One of us has to go on the OP, and we'll have another medic out with the patrols and raids. Its not too bad, as I'd rather be out on a mission than sitting here doing nothing. If there are kids in this house they're going to make out pretty well, as I've received several bags of candy in the mail. The resiliency of the children never ceases to amaze me; these children have learned of war not through movies or tv or video games, but with their own eyes, living through it in their own town, often in their own homes. And still they smile. Hope is a powerful weapon.
Time for dinner, and after that I need to pack my gear for tonight. Since its starting to warm up I'm sure we'll be carrying more and more water as the summer drags on.
Thanks for all the emails and packages!
Be back in a couple of days,
Troy
14 march
HAWKEYE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey, what's up man? Things are going well, though it has started to warm up some. After every patrol we go on I come back soaked...can't imagine what the middle of summer is going to be like.
Thought I'd give you a heads up, I'll try and call tonight after I get done with my last patrol for the day. Not sure what time that's gonna be, but I can't imagine it'll be much later than 11pm here, which means 3pm back there. I don't know what your schedule is, or where you'll be, but I'll try and get ahold of you sometime today.
Good news is that we've got a somewhat firm schedule of leave dates, and I'm on the list for October!!! They're willing to work on specific dates, but won't have to worry about that one for a little bit yet.
Things going well? Talked to my mom last night and she said that the weather has been beautiful. Must be a nice change from the last month or so! Anything new and exciting to report?
I think I've finally gotten a plan together for my life...its about damn time, right? End result, med school by the time I'm 30. I think I can pull it off! There's still some variables right now, but I think I'm getting it figured out.
Ok...I need to go get my gear ready for the patrol coming up. Hope all is well!!!!
Talk to you later today!
Luigi
Hey, what's up man? Things are going well, though it has started to warm up some. After every patrol we go on I come back soaked...can't imagine what the middle of summer is going to be like.
Thought I'd give you a heads up, I'll try and call tonight after I get done with my last patrol for the day. Not sure what time that's gonna be, but I can't imagine it'll be much later than 11pm here, which means 3pm back there. I don't know what your schedule is, or where you'll be, but I'll try and get ahold of you sometime today.
Good news is that we've got a somewhat firm schedule of leave dates, and I'm on the list for October!!! They're willing to work on specific dates, but won't have to worry about that one for a little bit yet.
Things going well? Talked to my mom last night and she said that the weather has been beautiful. Must be a nice change from the last month or so! Anything new and exciting to report?
I think I've finally gotten a plan together for my life...its about damn time, right? End result, med school by the time I'm 30. I think I can pull it off! There's still some variables right now, but I think I'm getting it figured out.
Ok...I need to go get my gear ready for the patrol coming up. Hope all is well!!!!
Talk to you later today!
Luigi
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
