Day 8

We have been in Kuwait for a week now and I'm starting to settle in. Yesterday we went to the range and did a few shoot houses, it was a good time. It was also the first time I have been to a shoot house with live ammo. The day was long though we had to get up at 0230 and didn't get in till the next morning around 0100. A lot of the day was spent on the bus riding between ranges and stuff like that but still, what a pain. Our squad is getting to know each other pretty well, and there are no problems. We had a deserter-Arceneaux decided not to show up on the day we deployed. So far the major events have been a sandstorm, going to the range, briefings on foreign weapons and IED's, and going to the rec center and the various fast food places. For some reason they don't pave the base and you have to walk a fair distance in the packed sand to get to the PX or the chow hall. Our barracks is a large tent, one that might be used for agriculture. We sleep on cots. Everyone is well behaved and their equipment is squared away.

Day 10

Today we went to the range in our strykers which just got here. Me and Thompson fired the 240B machine gun on a tripod mount. Zimmer was there to coach us or whatever. He kind of made me mad because he has an odd way of helping, kind of getting in the way. at any rate, we fired at dumpsters out in the desert with 200 round belts with tracers. It was pretty cool, even for a hot day. we woke up early to go out there but there was no point because people had to go refuel and we got out there late. The army is such a huge operation that it takes a lot longer than you think it would to get things done. The 240 is a really cool machine gun. They also trained us on the Russian designed PKM machine gun which is basically the same thing. Back at Fort Lewis I got the chance to fire the AT4 missile which was really cool. The days keep on passing by quickly even if there's a lot of work to do and I haven't had any anxiety or worries. I don't even miss home. Hopefully they'll give us leave coming up in June or July.

Day 11

Today I didn't have any work to do, so I sat in the tent most of the time. The other guys went out and downloaded stuff from the strykers but I didn't. At some point in the afternoon I went with some guys from the other platoon, SGT Graham and Zamudio to go and see if we could get the mortar tubes bore scoped. I guess that's like boresighting, I'm not sure. They couldn't do it though, so we ended up walking over a mile in the hot sun and waiting in the weapons maintenance shop to find that out. Shit like that happens all the time, I gave up on caring about efficiency because it's basically nonexistent. For dinner I had a few hot dogs and then played a few games of chess on the computer. That's about all I have to say, this place is getting boring. We should be on the road to Iraq in less than a week.

Day 12

Yesterday we went and fired the mortars out in the desert. The area we went to had an observation tower but it could barely be called a range. We had some fun, I didn't get to see the countryside driving out there because I was sitting in the back while Zimmer and Sergeant Lofstrom rode in the hatches. That's alright though because I didn't get sunburnt either. So we fired both the 60mm and 120mm mortars. We've been going to a lot of ranges, this is no joke. This morning we got word that we're going to a town in the north of Iraq, not Baghdad. It's more violent up there so I'll definitely get to shoot the 240. Today is command maintenance day, messing with the strykers. Kind of a pain in the ass, but whatever. We have to do something I guess. I just want to get up to Iraq, that's when this blog will get interesting.

Day 13

There's still not much going on here besides the ranges we go to. Yesterday me and Bowles went and played darts at the rec center, I beat him the first game but the second game both of s failed to hit the bullseye after an excessive number of tries. In the evening me and Rocci went to chow and then I came back and finished the novelization of the movie doom. What a fucked up read. In the morning we went out and got the trucks squared away.

Day 15

Today we're going to load up the Conex, I guess we're getting ready to go to Iraq. That could be bad because yesterday I took my laundry to get done and it's still at the laundry place until tomorrow. I'm not worried though because everything goes so slow that we're getting ready to go means another 5 days. Somebody blabbed about where we're going on the phone to their wife last night and it's an Operational Security violation. They held a formation and made a big deal about it. They just shouldn't tell us this stuff if we don't need to know it. Yesterday we went to another range and our squad played Op 4 which is the opposition to our forces in a drill. I didn't participate because I didn't feel like getting shot with the pellets they were using. The days continue to slide by easily and I think even if it sucks really bad in Iraq that the time will go fast because we are always busy and everything is new. Each day is a new thing. I've been getting a lot of E-mail from my family and friends of the family. I get along with Thompson and Faichney and Adamson and Rocci, not so much the leadership becuase they choose to separate themselves and form their own group. They expect the lower guys to grovel but I don't care. Zimmer, my team leader is the worst. I just don't talk to him.

Day 16

It's early in the morning and there's not much to do today. We hardly did anything yesterday either, except the bravos left for Iraq. We don't have a plane scheduled yet so we have to wait. Some time in the next five days they said. We're just sitting in the bay ready to go. I saw Brian Cheek a few times over the past few days, we were good friends back at Fort Lewis. He's a real social butterfly and seems to get along with everyone. I could never be like that. I went and lifted weights yesterday. Rocci the sniper who is affiliated with our squad is serious about all the supplements and all that stuff. After lifting we talked for a while about the different benefits of protein and amino acids and all this other stuff. A lot of the guys are looking to get buff in Iraq, I just need to gain some weight.

Day 17

We have the day off so I slept most of the morning and then went to chow with Thompson. Now I'm at the computer lab, just played a few games of chess. It feels like we're going to be here forever, nothing has been happening. Like I said to someone yesterday, I hope it gets ridiculous and we stay here for another month or so. There's action up north from what I hear, a car bomb killed 9 of our soldiers yesterday. That means we've got to be on our toes. I will be a little safer I think, but who knows. We've been here in Kuwait too long. Too much inactivity. I continue to work the rubics cube and hope to have it solved by the end of our tour. I have received some support from others, and a few tips on how to solve it.

Day 18

We leave for Iraq today. First platoon is gone and we get on the plane sometime this evening. We've spent enough time here in Kuwait, time for the main event. We're flying to taji in the northern part of Baghdad. We'll stay there for a few weeks then go to another place. We got all our stuff ready last night, the only things that can go on the plane are ruck sacks and assault packs. We'll be in full battle rattle for the flight which is kind of annoying but whatever. Maybe they'll let us take it off on the plane.

Day 20

We're in Iraq now. It took long enough to get here, I guess there was a long line at the airport in Kuwait to get over here. We took the bus two days ago in the evening and they turned us back, told us to come the next day. So we did, and I guess with some pushing and shoving by the officers they let us on a C17 and flew us to camp Anaconda. We were there for about eight hours and then we loaded our gear on chinooks and flew across Baghdad to Camp Taji. We're set up in temporary barracks I guess you could call them, a bigass warehouse type thing with hundreds of cots. It rained today and yesterday so it's all muddy and I don't feel quite right. Baghdad is an hour ahead of Kuwait for some stupid reason. Not much more to report, things have been going slow and will continue to go slow until we get going on these missions. Even then I think it will be boring. There are a lot of activities to keep soldiers busy here, a pool, weights, internet, billiards and on and on. We'll be here for a long time so things will get established and I'll have a regular routine which will keep me busy. A lot of guys are into lifting weights. I'll just keep in shape the best I can and eat right. I'm gonna try to gain some weight like I did in basic, not much else to do here.

Day 28

We are in Iraq at new housing and things are tough. It's hard to get around in our living space and we're far away from the chow hall and the PX so we have to ride the bus. A good part of the day is taken up riding the bus back and forth. I'll make it though. At some point we'll start doing missions, but I don't know when. It's getting hotter, today it was in the 90's and the sun is always out. Yesterday we picked up a bunch of rounds for the mortars and broke them down to put them in the truck. At some point we will go on missions, But I'm not sure if we'll use our own truck or what the hell is going on. We've been here over a week and it might be another week before we start going on missions. Church service is tomorrow morning, and I have been reading some of the bible. Nothing much to report except that tight living quarters are going to lead to confrontation. I got another E-mail from Amy Waite, my godmother. She said that her son hunter is growing up but they're having some trouble with him because he's dislexic. But he seems bright enough and they're working with him Thompson talks on the phone with his wife every day and has another son on the way. I can't believe they sent us here for more than a year, this is going to get so old!

Day 32

We went out on our first mission two days ago. We did an eight hour shift with a 2nd cav unit, abrams tanks. We rolled up and down the strip looking for contact but nothing happened. Me and Sgt LG stood for 4 hours in the hatch and then switched out. It was uneventful but safe.

Day 36

We've started going on missions. That means pulling security on what is called route Tampa, part of a major highway connecting major cities to Baghdad. We go out at midnight and come in between 0600 and 0800. Kind of a pain in the ass becuase then we have to sleep during the day and miss meals and all that. It's boring as hell too, not much action. Everything happens during the day from what I hear. I guess they're not able to attack us at night because we have night vision and they do not. We have both night vision goggles and thermal scope. Last night we thought we spotted an IED but it turned out to be a piece of insolation wrapped in plastic. They just kicked it off the road. I've been pulling air guard out the back of the stryker but I can tell they'll be moving us around. I was on the 240 the first mission. I complained a bit about going out at night but tomorrow we roll out in the morning so it changed. We don't know our schedule for sure in advance. The living arrangements aren't the best and there's no gym or PX where we are so we have to ride the bus or in the past few days take the strykers to get where we want to go. I'm getting tired of not having no exercise, my body is getting stiff from the missions and then just crashing. I did a little stretching and felt better. I guess what it comes down to is that my body isn't accustomed to the new environment yet. The temperature has been in the 100's everyday but it's a dry heat which means you can't feel yourself sweat. I hope this year goes by quick and without anyone on our squad getting hurt.

Day 40

I have been in Iraq for a few weeks now. Patrols started not long ago and there has been some action, but not for my squad. We've been assigned to the night shift which is uneventful and safe. We ride up and down "route Tampa and make sure no one plants roadside bombs. We wear night vision goggles and use thermal sites to see better. There is almost nothing the enemy can do against us directly at night. As soon as they attack us we will fire back and conduct a full search of the area. I've got it easy. Other platoons go to the villages and talk to people and put themselves in danger. I just sit in the truck and pull guard. There will be all kinds of missions from what I hear, not like I'm off the hook.
Life at camp Taji is not what I would call pleasant, but it's livable. The roads are not paved, but a truck rolls around every so often and sprays water on the road to keep the dust down. One of the most exciting things to do is go to the PX where you can buy whatever personal items you need. My squad goes there almost every day. I try to save as much as possible but some things you've gotta have. Back at the barracks they've built for us, known as surge housing, we live about thirty to a room in bunk beds. Buses take us to the PX and the rec center and chow hall because they haven't built us that stuff near our housing yet. One of the main complaints is that we don't have a gym. I haven't been getting much exercise and have been eating, I'm not in tip top shape anymore. This tour is going to fly by I can tell. We're always busy.

Day 59

Time has been going fast. I haven't been able to make it to the computer because we have been busy with patrols. Routines in the army generally get easier as time goes on, but it can be tough to get the ball rolling. My job is to pull rear guard out the back of the stryker vehicle Alpha 51 attached to 4th platoon. We go out in convoys of 3 vehicles or more (usually more) and guard the highway that connects Baghdad to the north. A lot of roadside bombs are planted along this route and every so often insurgents will attack with small arms fire and RPG's. We've taken a few casualties.
So we get a mission - You're going out with three other vehicles from 0000 to 0600 to patrol route tampa. We gear up the stryker with the mortar equipment a few hours early, get radio communications set, and coordinate with the other vehicles. Then we roll out the gate and sit on the median enforcing curfew. Sometimes we are with abrams tanks, heavy armor humvees and strykers. We have to wait for them, because there's no way to identify them.
My vehicle has been lucky enough not to "hit contact" in over ten missions. This is lucky. This is also not to say that we haven't run into trouble. A suicide bomber blew himself up at the Iraqi army traffic control checkpoint. Civilians have been shot on our shift and bombs have hit convoys very close to us.
Last night we went to the Iraqi army compound to stay the night. We were a quick reaction force if needed. Me and the driver of our vehicle, PFC Thompson ventured into the compound itself, an old building stripped to the essentials. There was a squad of Iraqi soldiers hanging out in one of the rooms and they welcomed us. We proceeded to play dominoes, watch some TV and then eat food. They put a tray of vegetables and beef patties on a small table on the floor. We removed the dominoes from the table and loaded the vegetables into pita bread and ate. Then we had tea. What nice people. I new some words in Arabic and they could pick up enough English that we could have a conversation. The food was fit for the weather and left us with a good feeling in our stomachs.

Day 68

Things have changed a bit and our mortar squad has been assigned to the JSS forward observer base. We have two four man teams that will rotate out every five days or so. The JSS as it's called is located in an area known for terrorist attacks. They fire their mortars at us almost every day and they're pretty accurate. We have to get in full kit; vest, helmet, weapon and eye protection, any time we leave the building. If they fire at us, our mortar team waits for a grid (target coordinates) to fire back. Unfortunately it's hard to locate them and we feel like sitting ducks. Our mortar team is a new addition to the team of infantrymen that stand guard over and patrol around the compound.
The building we occupy is shared with the Iraqi police force. They are generally not to be trusted and are considered crooked. The building itself is light blue and has camo netting on top. The camo net looks like tackle used for fishing which makes it look like a marina or a seafood restaurant, strangely enough. The inside is dingy with supplies stacked up the walls. At least there's air conditioning and a refrigerator for cold drinks.
The other night they had us working. The second cavalry unit just handed over the building to us and we want to set it up our way. About 40 of us filled sand bags for an hour or so then unloaded 5 pallets of bottled water from the back of a flatbed truck. They sent us all kinds of goodies like chips and soda and fruit too. It took an hour or so to unload all the boxes off the truck and then hand them up the stairs. We all had our vests and helmets and weapons which makes it all the harder. I just wish more was getting done over here, a lot of our resources and man power is going to waste. Slowly we're catching the bad guys. But we can only delay the inevitable, which is a clash between the shiites and sunnis to decide their new government.

Day 73

Not much to report here except that my throat is sore from something I ate or touched at the jss and that I had taco bell for lunch and now cannot think correctly. Zimmer is sitting next to me an d I don't like him. I just read some E-mail from mom and that made me feel good. I have a bunch of money saved up in my bank account. I have three days off here so I can relax a bit although I'm stuck here in Iraq. I'm thinking of going to Egypt to see the pyramids over break but it will not be a rip roarin time like other places would be. It would end up being very interesting though. The problem is security. there have been terrorist attacks there and I could get killed somehow. I still want to go.

The past three days at the jss were uneventful. We fired the 120mm mortar once, a total of four rounds, at a tree. there were some shots fired at the bravos on the roof and a bit of an uproar but nothing really happened. The Iraqi army opened fire on a village one day and the Iraqi police jumped out to "defend" the village because they lived there. The day before the IP's opened fire on a bus and shot some guy in the shoulder. He was brought back to the JSS to be treated and no reason was given for why they fired at the bus. I'll probably miss the chess tournament next week because we'll be on shift out there. We have to change the location of our bunks for some reason. But then again they will probably move us up north at some point.

Day 75

Me and Thompson went to the pool yesterday. I went running the night before. I just try to keep on my feet and moving in our off time because all we do out at the JSS is sit there in those dirty rooms. We do a bit of work but the place is seriously constricting because you have to be in full battle rattle if you go outside. A lot of people are sedintary naturally so they don't mind but I don't like it. Some guys like SGT Lofstrom just sit there and watch DVD's on their cot the whole time. Actually, SGT Lofstrom has been more active out there because he just signed up for another six years and he has more of a leadership role. Me and Thompson don't do shit. we just sit there and fire the mortar once a day.

Day 81

Things are kind of boring here. Our team has sunk into the three days on, three days off routine. It is frustrating because we don't get to fire at real targets, They just have us on standby. We go out to the stryker in full kit for a few hours a day and occasionally fire test rounds.

One day a sergeant called in on the radio saying they were taking mortar fire. He got us a grid to fire at, and once we got the necessary approval from all the higher ups it turned out that we couldn't fire because another unit was occupying that area. It's like having your hands tied. Occasionally the guards up on the roof will take fire from the fields or the edge of the palm groves in the distance. Just a few shots from an AK sends a ton more people up to the roof to start firing at an unknown target. Even if they see where they were, they quickly scurry away leaving us to fire our big machine guns into the dirt.

On the other hand things are going smoothly. The hit and run mortarman has not landed a round inside the compound for days. We targeted a suspected location and fired some mortar rounds to let him know we can hit back. The bravos are hauling in suspected terrorists for questioning from their raids and from anonymous tips. Word has it we're making more progress in the area than previous units. Credit is due to our commanding officer and the rest of the leadership.

I continue to read action novels to the point of eye strain. Right now I'm finishing up 'Brotherhood of the Rose' By David Morrel, then it's on to 'The Lost World', sequel to 'Jurassic Park'.

Day 89

There's not much action outside the wire for my squad. A lot of sitting around and waiting. One day we fired four mortar rounds at an unspecified target. The next night we fired illumination rounds (flairs that burn for 30 seconds or so) in order to see what effect it would have. There is a curfew in place and anyone prowling around at night will be shot.
The joint security site was attacked by bombers this past week. A man in a dumptruck full of explosives drove right up to the gate and blew up. I was in the stryker when it happened. You could only have seen it from the second story roof because of the large concrete barriers surrounding the building. I felt the wave of the explosion though. No one was hurt, but it left a crater ten feet deep. The next day there was another bombing at the train station across the road. The whole side of the building was blown out. Apparently whoever occupies the 'train station' these days sympathizes with the Iraqi army.
I talked with an Iraqi interpreter who shed some light on the conflict brewing in the country. He said that there are different factions, not necessarily divided by religion but by region or political interest. The Iraqi parliament is in disarray and there is constant fighting between the members. Representatives are killed, threatened and disobeyed. It seems there is no way to take control besides military action. There is no telling whose side the bands of unofficial Iraqi police are on. The people in the villages and communities are caught between taking action and supporting their leader and obeying the threats of terrorists that threaten their lives. In fact, many of the people that attack our compound are not criminals themselves, but are forced into service by threats to their families. Many of the suicide bombers have their hands taped to the steering wheel. The bombs are then detonated with a remote device, or once in place the explosives are shot from afar.

There was a small 4th of July celebration yesterday at the barracks. We played volleyball and ate hamburgers and hot dogs. All of the commanding officers were there. It was uncomfortable because of the heat and the situation we're in. I forced down some food and talked with a few people I hadn't seen in a while.

Day 101

Another three day shift at the JSS is over and without any mishaps. I filled the time mostly with reading and sleeping, although there was some work. We had to fill hesco barriers outside the larger concrete barriers which surround the compound. Although a bulldozer filled the large wire mesh containers, it took human hands to put them in place. They came folded up on the backs of trucks and took as many as ten men to move them, stand them up and unfold them like accordians. Much is being done to fortify our position and maximize safety, although I think 15 foot high concrete barriers are enough. We did all the work under the cover of night. Occasionally convoys would pass and light us up with their headlights and the sergeants would yell in protest. Right outside the barriers is a good place to get shot.

There is a dog that follows us around and hangs out by the front door. We have given him the name rusty due to his reddish color. Most of the dogs are strays of a mixed breed, but this one appears to have been a pet. The Iraqi police don't like the dog, they say it's dirty and see it as a pest. I agree and won't touch it, however most of the guys like him.

One day a man had a heart attack in the village across the way and they brought him over for treatment. Our medics are clearly more qualified and have more equipment than any doctor in the area so sometimes they bring sick people to see us in emergencies. They brought him in on a stretcher and saved his life.

The Iraqi police are beginning to seem more like normal people as we learn their customs and vice versa. We share magazines like Maxim with pictures of women and new cars and watches and comment on them. Some of them know English words so we can piece together conversations. They aren't trained very well and it shows in the way they carry their weapons and conduct themselves. Their are military police from Fort Drum stationed at the compound as well, training them to be policemen.

Day 118

After a six day shift at the JSS our mortar team is back at camp Taji for six days off. There was an air assault mission in which two of our team members helped raid a number of houses to confiscate weapons and capture suspected terrorists. I didn't go because they didn't need more people. I had mixed feelings about this; it sounded kind of exciting and boring at the same time. At first were told that our mortar team would set up outside of the village to fire white illumination rounds to light up the sky. We would have to wait a few hours to fire only a few rounds and not witness any of the action. Of course it's much safer to be removed from the actual raid. I don't get worked up over these missions because the details change as the event gets closer. There is continuous planning and changes to the structure of the mission. So I sit and wait until it's actually time to go and my team leaders give me direct orders. Other teams say they've been working very hard in comparison to us. a mortar team for a different company said they did two missions in addition to the air assault mission I described and they were exhausted. So maybe we're just cooling our jets. I don't mind, that gives me time to read books and stay in shape. Boredom has become my main concern. We did provide fire support for Bravo company one day last week. they called for fire some time in the afternoon. I'm not sure what the target was but it was for real this time.

Specialist Bowles, a member of the other mortar team on our squad will receive an article 15 for an accidental discharge into a clearing barrel. He didn't clear his weapon properly upon returning to the gate and fired off a round still in the chamber. It was unlucky that the company executive officer was standing behind him when it happened. So he'll be demoted and lose some money. This is another case where I don't pay attention to the details until it actually happens.

Guys have started going on leave. Initially leave was for 14 days, but they have extended it to 18. This is in addition to the week or so you must spend in Kuwait before shipping back, so you're really out of the action for a month or so. There are also guys that are going home for this or that reason, like settling a divorce or a family member's funeral. I go on leave in October. My destination is the Dominican Republic.

Day 134

I am stuck here at the JSS for a double shift totalling more than ten days. There isn't much to do here for the mortars, we're just on standby. It sounds interesting going out on patrol but it's so hot out there I'd rather not. For the first five days I pulled guard on the roof with fourth platoon. Three hour shifts twice a day from 0300-0600 and then 1500-1800. It gets so hot up there on the roof that the corporal in charge of our four man team told me to go downstairs and 'lower my core temperature.' I thought it was a bit funny but he wasn't joking. The vest we wear weighs a good 30lbs. and with the helmet and weapon you have to drink water continuously. Wouldn't it be great if we took fire, I thought to myself. There were some pop shots down at the flea market 500yds away, but I couldn't identify a target. Sometimes they just fire their AK's around like toys.
There has been some action outside the wire, one of the snipers shot a suspected terrorist who fled from a vehicle with a rifle. An Iraqi man was escorted to the medic station by the Iraqi police after someone stole his truck and shot him in the crotch for resisting. The bulk of the cases our medics treat here are Iraqi citizens and the Iraqi police. Occasionally one of our guys will come in badly dehydrated but that's about it.
General Patraeus and another general came around this past week on separate occasions, but I missed them both. I had to pull gate guard, where you block the entrance to the compound with the stryker. I did however manage to swipe a coin from the second general, one of the other guys didn't want it. The generals hand out coins randomly based on merit. The visits were the highlight of the week, besides the new weight set they put in upstairs. That means that everyone can do bench presses instead of sitting around.
One day I was pulling radio guard outback in the stryker. I was standing up in the hatch getting some fresh air when I heard a whistling sound like a roman candle or something. They fired an RPG at the rooftop but missed. It exploded in the field on the other side, and then they shot at us and fled. We fired back and the whole thing was over quickly. They fired the 240 from the roof right over my head, and man was it loud. anytime a weapon is pointed in your direction it is much louder. Another time late at night I was standing up looking around, which I'm not supposed to do and there was a large fluorescent burst and a crack from a bat flying into the power lines. The guys were laughing about it over the radio. That's about all there is for real excitement out here besides DVD's and reading and some card playing. Everyone plays spades. I'm starting to smell bad and want to go back and relax and eat real food. All that's left is MRE's and self heating beans in a can. God bless America.

Day 146

There hasn't been much action here at the JSS, but there has been lots of time for me to visualize what I will do on leave, and when I get back from Iraq. That's better than dwelling on the past, bad memories have a way of creeping in when you're far away from home.

The JSS is slowly being upgraded from a dirty old police station into something more like a hostel. We soon will have showers, toilets and sinks in addition to bunk beds and air conditioning. Right now we have to don our vests and helmets to go to the porta potties out front just to pee. That's about to change. Iraqi workers have been sawing tile and laying concrete for the past few days, causing an uproar. They mix well with the Iraqi Police, eating and drinking tea. For lunch they have shopping bags full of vegetable pitas, which are pretty good. Last night we got some more ready to eat meals of a different variety, Jimmy Deans. They come with a small sandwich, chips, soda and cookies. Everyone is thrilled, even the guys that don't have to stay long. The bridge to Baghdad was bombed a few weeks ago which stops any large shipments of supplies to come in from the south.

The Iraqi Police are not allowed to eat our food, and as a result we have a stair guard, who watches the entrance to the food and water area. That's my job while I'm not firing the mortar, which is almost always. I had a four hour shift today, 1200 to 1600. What a bore. The IP's took our fuel cans for a while too, until we started chaining them up outside by the generators.

The generator is another issue we face here. There are three of them, two for electricity and one for phone lines and internet. The problem is keeping them fueled up, and lately the work on the building has been overloading them. The mechanic is always running in and out to check on them, coming back in sweaty with dirty hands. We jab at him every time the lights flicker.

There are boxing matches scheduled for Labor Day, but I'll miss them. Some of the guys are good at boxing, and have been training for a while. It gives them something to do and something to focus their workouts on. A lot of guys keep in shape out here. In addition to being infantry, there's a lot of downtime.

We took fire from the south and west last night while me and another guy from my squad were out refueling the stryker. The enemy initially fired at a convoy a few hundred meters up the road, and then at the rooftop. This is a very common occurrence, and we hardly stopped to question what was going on. I calmly walked to fuel cans back to the fuel point as I looked up at the tracer rounds pumping out of the 240. We have been lucky with not having any casualties here at the JSS, although there have been several in our company.

Notes on the Iraqi police force

One of the main goals of the troop surge is to prepare the Iraqi police force to keep control of the country when we leave. General information about the training of the forces is available from larger news sources. Here are my impressions of the force at the joint security station where I have been working for the past few months.

There are 40 or so policemen that show up for shifts although the official roster boasts well over 100. I am not impressed with their conduct and can't say much for their training. The MP's stationed with us go out on routine patrols with them. From what I can tell the Iraqi policemen are unprofessional and do things their own way. They have opened fire on civilian vehicles for questionable reasons, and I have seen them come back to the JSS injured from IED blasts and gunshot wounds on several occasions where I haven't seen any MP's or our guys injured.

They do not handle their weapons in a controlled manner the way we do, by that I mean muzzle awareness (keeping the gun pointed at the ground). That is the most detectable sign that they don't know what they're doing. There are also safety checks with a weapon that they don't do, resulting in a few accidental discharges. I have seen them carry handguns without a holster (tucked in the belt), and they have been given extendable batons, but are not trained to use them.

Although they are supposed to be trained to similar standards as our police, they do not have the same level of discipline. I have heard that the lower level officers are not respected within their group due to inexperience and the higher ups have a tough time enforcing rules and regulations regarding conduct.

After 1700 their shirts go untucked and they put on sandals. Their group seems to get along well, they eat together and have good relations. The core of the group seems to be devoted to the job, suggesting they will stay together after we leave. All in all however, they are undertrained and do not manage their resources. Every ten days they are given a ration of water which they squander with tea and quick baths, cleaning their face and hands. The result is that they ask for water from our supply and we have to tell them no. The same goes for fuel. They do not have enough fuel to conduct their patrols and are willing to steal from our supply. As a result we have to run a long chain through the handles of the plastic gas cans to secure them.

Most of these policemen are the able bodied men from the village across the street. Their reach extends into the surrounding community, and there are informants and supporters which help them out. Our unit is attempting to give them a working police station so we can back out. The framework is there, but signs of progress are lacking. These guys look almost like a militia group with machine guns and AK's rather than a protective force. It might be argued that they are prepared to act rather than react to violence. Eventually they are supposed to work together with the Iraqi Army, which has a similar but farther reaching role. The two groups are somewhat at odds, and I think the Army is trained better. The guys look more serious at least.

On the personal level they seem like good people bound by their religion, Islam. I like some of them and in general our guys get along with them. This has nothing to do with the job they do however. I wish them luck, but do not expect much.

Interview with an Iraqi police lieutenant

Lieutenant Muhammad Mahmud, shift commander at the Joint Security Station, was nice enough to answer some questions about his job. With the help of an interpreter I was able to get his opinion on some of the important issues facing the people in the surrounding area. In the following answers to the questions I have taken some liberties in translating the responses from the simple English used by the interpreter. I made an effort to record his thoughts accurately, although the true meaning may have been lost in translation.

SPC Matsick: How old are you, and are you married?

LT: I'm 30 years old, and yes I'm married.

SPC Matsick: Do you like your work?

LT: Yes.

SPC Matsick: Is the police force at this station improving?

LT: Yes, but slowly. Three months ago before your unit took over for the previous unit, it was very dangerous to travel on the highway. there were kidnappings, vehicles were stolen, and the station was attacked by terrorists.

SPC Matsick: Do the people in Mushada (the surrounding town) respect/support the police force?

LT: Everyone in the town supports the IP's, because they are in need of the medical support, water, food rations, etc.

SPC Matsick: Do you want the U.S. forces to be here in Iraq longterm?

LT: Yes. The Iraqi government is not ready to protect the people from terrorists and militias.

SPC Matsick: Would different regions of the country clash if we left?

LT: Yes. Many parties in Baghdad kill people. Three weeks ago, a militia group called Jaysh Mahadi, said not to patrol near Baghdad gate and Adan square or there would be violence.

SPC Matsick: Is there conflict between the Iraqi Army and the Iraqi Police?

LT: The Iraqi Army is mostly a Shiite Muslim force, and the Iraqi police are Sunni. Therefore they are at odds. The two forces accuse each other of attacking the other, killing civilians and acting irresponsibly.

SPC Matsick: Does the Iraqi youth support IP's/American forces?

LT: Yes. Sometimes the American forces don't do what they say however, they promise to bring rations or to make changes in patrols and they don't. And sometimes their conduct is bad. This sets a bad example for the young people.

SPC Matsick: Are you confident as policemen?

LT: We rely heavily on the American forces to control violence in the area, but are ready to act according to their orders.

SPC Matsick: What do you think of President Bush?

LT: He has lied to the American people, and those of Iraq as well. We still want help from him so we cooperate with what he says.

SPC Matsick: Do you think democracy will work in Iraq?

LT: No. It will only create problems. I support Iyad Allawi to be the leader of Iraq. He does not side with either Shiite or Sunni Muslims.

SPC Matsick: Where do you go on vacation?

LT: I never get more than a few days off. I don't want long vacation because I would just stay at home. There's nowhere to go in Iraq because it's dangerous to travel and most of the sites in Baghdad and the north are ruined by the war.

Day 175

The days continue to pass by with little excitement. I was told a few weeks ago that our mortar squad would start tower guard October 1st while everyone takes turns going on leave. That has changed for some reason and we will be handing over our duties here at the JSS to B company permanently. Supposedly our mortar squad will be attached to 4th platoon and we will conduct regular patrols. You never can tell what will happen though because things change so quickly and the planning never stops.

I have to admit the JSS isn't such a bad assignment. I have guard shift from 0200-0400 everyday, so that leads me to sleep from the time I get off until some time in the afternoon. Pfc. Thompson mans the radio in the Stryker out back, but usually he comes in during the day for a few hours to stretch out and eat. This is my wake up call and I go out to "the truck" as we call it, and pass the time reading or watching DVD's. Right now I'm reading Live and Let Die by Ian Fleming, the second book of the Bond series. I plan to read all of them.

There is always some kind of improvement going on. Today the detail to be taken care of is the removal of the wood box shaped latrines that were in use by the Iraqis before we got here. Right now a team of men is carrying the wood over to the burn pit and taking care of the rest.
We are down to MRE's again and the next shipment is still five days away. I ran out of snacks on the third day here, leading me to look forward to an occasional bag of skittles or some potato sticks that pop up in an MRE.

One guy stationed here with us is coming up on the time when he leaves Iraq. He's planning a trip across Europe when he gets out of the army. I have been giving him tips and helping with some internet research since I have been there twice. Another guy, one of the medics, already went on leave back home to Louisiana and then to Florida with his wife. He went bunji jumping and jet skiing. This was shortly after an accident he had on a patrol. He was riding in the stryker when they hit an IED. He took shrapnel to the side of the head and the thigh and was medevac'd to Balad where they stitched him up. He's OK now, but with a few scars.

Every so often there is an explosion outside the compound. Some are louder than others depending on how far away. Some are controlled detonations-IED's that have been spotted on the roadside and set off by the EOD crew (bomb squad.) There is a boom and then you feel the shock wave through the ground. The most serious controlled detonation was a few weeks ago when they blew up the abandoned train station 300 yards down the road. There were plans to remove the site because the enemy could use it for cover. I was walking in the main entrance at about 2300 one night when it went off, the shockwave actually pushing me in the door. It was very loud so they probably used an excessive amount of C4. One guy recorded it on his digital camera; there was some sort of blue electrical surge and then a large explosion in the night. Needless to say there is no more train station.

The Iraqi police are fasting for Ramadan. It lasts 40 days and nights, and they stop to pray often during the day. This morning while I was still on my hall guard shift, a group of them came in to eat before dawn. I was hungry so I popped in to the office to ask for some real food instead of MRE's. There was a small cooked hen laying on top of a platter of rice and sliced cucumbers. I gave them a few diet sodas in return for a plate. We have no more good drinks such as 'Rip It', the energy drink over here, or regular Coke and Pepsi. Only Diet Sprite and an endless supply of Gatorade packets for our bottled water.

I go on leave in less than two weeks but there will probably be a layover in Kuwait for a few days. After spending some time at home I'm flying down to the Dominican Republic. I will make sure and bring my camera.

On vacation

It has rained every day I have been here in the Dominican Republic. That hasn't stopped me from having a good time though. Yesterday I went to el limon waterfall with a guide from the town of the same name. I rode a horse to the site and took plenty of pictures. Afterwards I ate with his family, a plate of chicken and rice. It was a really cool experience to ride a horse through the hills which is dense jungle. On the way there were all kinds of fruit trees and we went through a small village and crossed a river three times. There were other tourists along the route, some Germans and another solo traveler from Asia somewhere, maybe Japan. In the evening I went out and had a few drinks with some people I met in front of the hotel playing volleyball. After talking for a while in front of one of the local hangouts we split and I went looking for a bar. I ended up playing dominoes with three dominican women who ran a small restaurant, we played for a few hours! It was a good time as we laughed and talked. It was a woman and her daughters and we ended up going to the disco called La Bodega afterwards. It was a great time, and after a few "cuba libres" which is rum and coke, I was ready to dance! I got to dance with like five different girls and left with one of them. Today it rained like hell. I rode on the back of a motorbike for like 45 minutes to the nearby town of Samana with a guide, the rain hitting me in the face as I went. Then we couldn't go to the famed cayo levantado, because the water was too choppy. This town is mostly French and the rest European. No Americans in sight. That's besides the locals of course who speak Spanish. I have renewed my Spanish speaking skills and am able to converse on a basic level. In the caribbean they speak really fast and it's impossible to understand if you're not used to it. I can get around though and I would like to thank all my Spanish teachers growing up. I have three more days to relax and then it's back to the states. The rain is pissing me off. I guess there's a tropical storm in the area.

On Leave in the DR

Today is the last day of my vacation in the Dominican Republic. Despite daily rain showers and in some cases a downpour, I have managed to squeeze out some fun every day. In fact a tropical storm called Noel hit the island, killing some people in the mountainous interior. I have passed all six days in the town of Las Terrenas on the Samanà peninsula. The town is mostly French, and then there are Italians and some Germans. If they don´t speak English or Spanish then I can´t talk with them. I have been hanging out more with the locals on the other side of town, playing dominoes or billiards and drinking mixed drinks. I say billiards because they play a different form of pool down here. And they´re good at it. I spend all of yesterday afternoon at a local pool hall open to the outside. It rained and it poured, but we kept playing pool on the four tables under the thatched roof. It was a lot of fun, and I have found out that I´m still pretty good at playing pool and speaking Spanish.

Another night I went out with some of the local surfers who I met playing volleyball in front of a hotel. We went and ate dinner, a plate of seafood pasta, and then split. I wandered a bit and ended up at a small bar with some women playing dominoes. It was too early to go to the disco, so I had a seat and we played for a few hours. It turned out that the older of the three was the mother of two daughters from different fathers. One of the daughters was clearly black and the other looked more like one of the natives that were pushed out with the conquest hundreds of years ago. You could tell there was competition between them, who was prettier and who could play dominoes better. After drinking a few beers and talking it up we all went to the bodega together and danced the night away.

The next day I woke up and went to El Limòn waterfall with a guide I had met from the town of that name. He was a nice guy at first, but it turned out he was more interested in getting my money than making friends. I should have known. That´s how the people are. If they see you are willing to part with your money they will pressure you. All in all they´re pretty laid back though. I had a good time riding a horse up the mountain from the town of El Limòn to the picturesque waterfall. When we got back, we had lunch at his mother´s house and met his family and the people hanging out at the small cafe next door. They were all very friendly in a way that isn´t seen in the US. I guess it´s because they don´t have much.

It rained all the next day which was kind of a bust. In the morning I walked along the beach and spent some time alone. It is off season here so there aren´t so many people. That´s both good and bad. I didn´t realize there would be all this rain. There will be rain when I return to Iraq as well but that place is really nasty. The mud gets caked to your boots and everyone tracks it inside with them creating a real mess. It´s either that or the heat.

Tomorrow morning I say goodbye to Las Terrenas which has been good to me. I haven´t seen another American in six days which is a bit strange. We dominate the fenced in resorts; these days the most notable is Punta Cana. I chose to go outside the fence and see some more of the local culture, which is "tranquilo" as they say.

Stuck in Balad

Upon reentering Iraq from Kuwait, everyone must go to Balad (buh-lahd) air force base south of Baghdad. Here in Balad, all soldiers entering and exiting the country wait for flights that will take them to their respective destinations. In some cases it takes up to a week to get the flight you need. I have been here for three days now with a few other guys from my unit. We were told yesterday that we will catch a plane out tonight.

Being here is something like being in limbo. You arrive after the long flight from the states with a few layovers and a stop in Kuwait for in processing. In processing is just a bunch of paperwork. Once in Balad you go to transit housing and put your stuff down. Transit housing is like row housing in the ghetto; little wooden buildings lined up in a big grid with a basketball court in the center. You get assigned a bunk in one of the little barracks buildings, each of which house 20 bunk beds, and settle in.

On the one hand this is an extension of your leave time. There's no one to order you around and the base is pretty big with lots of stuff to do. These things include a big movie theatre with a balcony, two PX's, a recreation center, and of course the row housing with your own little bunk bed where you can sleep as much as you want. On the other hand there is no work to be done and it gets boring being laid over.

There is no schedule, you simply go to the 1445 daily meet up at the PAX terminal to see if there are any flights out. Me and the other guys stuck here went to the PX and then Pizza Hut after the brief announcement that there was nothing new to report. 1st sergeant Horney who is an old army ranger in charge of our company talked our ears off over pizza about promotion opportunities and advancement in the military. The longer you're in the better you know everyone and the more options you have. Then today after the 1445 daily meet up we went to the movie theatre and saw The Guardian with Jamie Foxx. I give it a 4 out of 10. The theatre is pretty cool though, it has a balcony and a subway restaurant and popcorn and candy and everything. I went to the rec center later on and played chess with a guy in the air force stationed here. He was pretty good at it, but I pulled out a surprising win in the first game!

My Battalion has changed locations to Camp Warhorse which is about 25 miles northeast of camp Taji where we were before. I have yet to see how good or bad it is, although it has all the basic amenities such as a PX, chow hall, and laundry facilities. Once I get there I will sit around some more, we don't pick up our patrol route until the 1st of December.

Day 237

After getting a late night flight to Camp Warhorse from Balad, I was quickly sent to the JCOP (joint combat outpost) in Baqubah, Iraq. This large three story building is manned by our company and Iraqi Army soldiers. Although patrols are more fun here due to the number of people on the street, the living quarters aren't that great. The building has high ceilings and is open to the outside. The weather has gotten cooler and it gets pretty cold at night. That means you get cold even in a heavy sleeping bag and we've been wearing plenty of extra clothes.

For the most part things are slowing down and the situation here is under control. Every so often you hear a random gunshot or an explosion from somewhere in the surrounding area. Usually the explosions are controlled detonations, IED's that our patrols find before our vehicles hit them. Our leadership has been working with that of the local town to clean up buildings and public works that were destroyed such as hospitals, schools and peoples' houses.

A few days ago a female suicide bomber injured seven of our soldiers while they were on patrol. She was wearing a vest with explosives and ball bearings, the equivalent of a claymore mine. A few of our guys might not make it, and seven of them are out of the fight for sure. There was an anonymous threat of more vests in the area as well, causing some tension and increased awareness on patrol and on guard at the entrance to the compound. The threat of suicide bombers and extremists is all too real, and it gets in the way of interacting with the people in the area. You don't want to get friendly with them because this can become a weakness. Often times children will come up and ask for food or chocolate, but this can be a big distraction.

There is a resistance group here in Baqubah called 1920, why they are called that I don't know. They used to work with al-Qeada but got fed up with them because they don't treat people right and pay them enough. Supposedly the 1920 forces have agreed to work with the U.S. forces to combat terrorism in the area. To what extent they are actually helping I can't be sure. There are also neighborhood guards who wear reflective belts and are allowed to carry AK-47's. We don't really work with them but they are not against us. I think these guys should join up with the Iraqi Police and get paid, but some people disagree with the Iraqi Police force. There is not enough entry level screening and some of them have ties to terrorism and extremist groups.

I have been hanging out with the Iraqi Army guys on the second floor where they stay. I like to play chess and some of them are willing to play, so I go up there every so often. Their Sergeant Major is a nice guy who tries to relate to the U.S. forces when he can. The Iraqis drink lots of tea, chai as they call it. They just toss the ground up leaves right in the pot and boil it. The tea is strong and they take lots of sugar. The other day I went up there during the afternoon and they boiled potatos and we ate them salted with pita bread and some kind of pickled vegetable on the side. The Muslim world has their own TV networks as well, including Al-Jazeera. They watch soccer and soap operas and lots of music videos, the music is mostly about Allah, their god.

We are all hoping this situation will end soon and that we will begin to pull out. There have been rumors that our unit will leave in May 2008, but there is no guarantee. The latest we will leave is August. I look forward to getting home and eating good food rather than this quickly prepared cafeteria food. I try not to complain though, things could be much worse.

Day 253

When I signed up to be an infantryman two years ago, I was designated 11 X-ray. That means they can make you a regular foot soldier (11B) or they can make you a mortarman (11C.) I was trained as a mortarman. It's a pretty cool job; we fire a giant cannon with a range of four miles or so. In the current war however, the mortar is rarely used for combat missions. This leaves me and my crew looking like Maytag men on some days.

The leadership in our company has been trying to keep our nine man squad busy as the commander's personal security when he goes out on patrol. Four of us must stay back at all times on what's called the hot gun, ready to fire the mortar at any time of the day or night at whatever the target may be. Besides that I do a guard shift twice a day at the front gate, receiving visitors and keeping watch.

The local people come to the gate sometimes if they need something. One day a woman in the traditional black garb that covers the entire body approached the gate. I called for the interpretor on the radio and he arrived in a few minutes. She wanted to know the wherabouts of her son who was treated for wounds from a suicide vest. The last time she heard from him he was being treated at a U.S. medic station, but she did not know where. I'm not sure we could help her.

There is an Iraqi Army soldier at the gate at all times as well. They show up in mix and match surplus military gear left over from Desert Storm and play with their cell phones. I usually stand behind the small hesco barrier filled with sand and look through the frame of bullet proof glass that has been posted on top. Sometimes I get tired of that though, it seems unfair, and I sit to the side of the barrier with the IA soldier and talk a bit. This can be an interesting experience, because they speak only a little English and I know only a few words in Arabic. There is a lack of things to talk about as well, we're just bored. So we come up with simple things. Their favorite question is, "Ma'dam?" meaning are you married followed by "Baby?" which means do you have kids. From there they move on to their own marital status and state that it is good to have kids and am I happy to be single. Sometimes the guys have multiple wives and a whole bunch of kids. I have learned to count to 30 in Arabic and know basic words and phrases like sun, rock, alibaba (terrorist), and I'm bored.

I start my two hour guard shift at 0600. It's a bit cold when I wake up and the sun rises as the guard shift ends, providing a bit of warmth. There is a 50ft. wide corridor leading from the gate to the road 200 meters out to stop any hostile intruders. The whole thing is filled with trash, spools of concertina wire and stray dogs. I stare at this image waiting for visitors or possible enemy. The town is all around us, there are houses and people and various kinds of commerce here and there. Our building is right in the middle of this small city called Baqubah.

Sometimes the CLC (concerned local citizens) come by to talk, but they aren't much help. They're untrained civilians licensed to carry AK-47's. One day they were all lined up outside to have their pictures taken and get their licenses. I brought out a few sodas for them and they passed them down the line, each taking a sip. These people are poor. The IA guys get paid better than the townspeople, they get around $600 a month and think that's great. Even $100 a month is a lot here.

I'd like to wish a Merry Christmas to all the folks back home and good luck with the snow up north. I wish I could be there, but I guess this is more important. I'll still get presents mailed over here which is a consolation. Thanks for reading my blog and happy holidays!

Day 264

Yesterday on Christmas day a colonel from another battalion stopped in to say hello and wish us happy holidays. We held formation at 1400 and he gave a speech and then the chaplain that accompanied him gave us all a blessing. I talked with the chaplain, a major, briefly before the formation. He said that our unit will be home this summer. He said that the enemy is being pushed off the supply line from the Iranian border to Baghdad up into the mountains. I told him that their resistance was like a blob of jelly: when you press down in one spot the jelly just squirts out to the side. then when you press on that spot it just moves again. What we're trying to do with this surge offensive is get them all at one time and be done with it. I'm not sure that's really possible but we have to stay positive. Every day we bring in more detainees for questioning, usually blindfolded and with zipcuffs on.

After the formation we all sat down to eat Christmas dinner. We had mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and chicken instead of turkey. It was pretty good and everyone had a fun time talking. There was even an eagle ice sculpture which I helped prepare. The cook was all by himself trying to cut the plastic mold off so I decided to give him a hand. It took almost half an hour to cut the plastic off!

It has been getting pretty cold so we got a bunch of kerosene heaters. Because of the high ceilings in the building there's no problem with the fumes and we turn the heaters way up so the flame is high and it looks like a small fire. There's a bunch of ammunition and weapons around so we have to be careful.

The day before Christmas we fired the mortars. We used both trucks and fired more than 90 rounds. Usually we just fire a short distance and you can see the rounds impact, the "splash" it's called. This time however we fired at a target a few miles away. It was pretty loud in the truck firing all those rounds, even with double hearing protection of earplugs and a headset. The truck absorbed the shock of the cannon each time we fired, rocking down a foot or so. There was a lot of smoke from the cheese charges which are the small canisters of gunpowder that send the round flying. There was lots of yelling and shuffling to get the rounds out of the casings and hand them to the assistant gunner. It's the kind of thing you never forget.

I waited until Christmas day to open all my mail, but it turned out that I got too much and I didn't even open it all. I still have some packages for the new year! Thanks to everyone back home who sent me letters and gifts, I really appreciate the support. A big thanks to Dino Campanis of Bellefonte, PA for sending me over 120 care packages since June. Everyone still runs over to see what's inside them. I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the holiday season and good luck in the new year! Hopefully the war will be over soon and things will lighten up.

Day 280

It has been getting colder here in Baqubah. This morning I woke up to a light snowfall. It turned to a drizzle as the day went on and we lit up the new industrial heaters. The heaters are like jet engines that sit on the floor spitting heat out the back end. Our squad has been drinking a lot of tea and coffee to keep warm, and a few guys are going ot the next level getting all kinds of coffee shipped to them. Today we tried the new variety pack including Ethiopian, Mexican and Indonesian coffee.

Out back on guard shift we have been lighting a small fire. Standing around in the cold can be a real killer. The Iraqi Army soldiers find wood in various places and keep the fire in a small pan to contain the ashes. As I write this in the computer lab at Camp Warhorse I can smell the wood smoke on my uniform. The majority of visitors at the gate want motorcycle badges, which are issued from the compound. Yesterday an Iraqi boy needed to see the dentist so we took him back to Warhorse. The kid played PlayStation while he waited to go and was pretty good at it. I think their family must have been wealthy.

Our headquarters platoon is made up of the mortar squad, the two snipers, the armorer, a guy that is switching to officer, and the medics. That basically comprises all the soldiers that are not 11B infantry. Besides going out on foot patrol with the commander, we do odd jobs like escort people or vehicles to Camp Warhorse and other locations. Occasionally we will do a mission. The other day we went and set up a traffic control point to search cars and identify possible terrorist suspects. I'm not sure found any, but we got a lot of names and license plate numbers. We made a road block with concertina wire and waved the cars through one by one to be checked. After a while too many cars were lined up and we just let them all through. Most of the locals are familiar with a checkpoint and know how to behave. If they keep coming when you give them the signal to stop, we're told to shoot the engine block. After that go for the driver. I think this must have happened enough times that the people know what to do. Luckily there were no incidents, everything went smoothly.

So far in our deployment I have been very lucky. I have not been shot at, rode in a vehicle hit by an IED, or had any accidents. Things have been slowing down, but there is still constant danger. Today first platoon was headed back from the government center and they hit an IED which injured two soldiers. Crawford, a guy from Pittsburgh got a serious concussion, and Hadley from Atlanta took shrapnel. Luckily both of them are able to continue fighting. They will both receive purple hearts.

Pretty soon there will be internet and showers and heat out at the JCOP and it won't be any fun anymore. It will be civilized. There are lots of signs that U.S. forces will be here in Iraq long term. The war on terror will never end it seems. We're just sitting tight waiting for summer to come around.

Sgt. Byrne 92G Food Service Specialist

There is one female soldier stationed at the Joint Combat Outpost, Baqubah, Sergeant Byrne. She is one of the three cooks we have. I asked her some questions about her job to find out what it's like to be the only woman in a large group of men. Here she is standing in front of the mess tent.





Spc. Matsick: Do you like your work? How long have you been in the military?

Sgt. Byrne: Yes, I like my work. I've been in for six years.

Spc. Matsick: What's the best part about your job?

Sgt. Byrne: Making the guys happy.

Spc. Matsick: what's the worst part?

Sgt. Byrne: Being in Iraq for such a long time. This is my second deployment.

Spc. Matsick: Where are you from?

Sgt. Byrne: San Diego, California.

Spc. Matsick: Are you married and do the guys hit on you a lot?

Sgt. Byrne: No, I'm not married. The guys are respectful for the most part.

Spc. Matsick: Do you ever make foods that aren't authorized?

Sgt. Byrne: No, no messing around in the kitchen. Sometimes we improvise though. For example the other day we made gravy by mixing the juices from meatloaf and soy sauce. People said it tasted great.

Spc. Matsick: I wasn't sure what it was at first, I thought maybe like a cheese dip. Do you know how to carve fruit and make garnishes?

Sgt. Byrne: Yes, The most common one we do is to make a rose out of a tomato. That comes up pretty often. I can make carvings out of pineapples or watermelons too.

Spc. Matsick: Would you consider preparing food after the military?

Sgt. Byrne: I worked at a few restaurants before enlisting; Sizzlers, a seafood restaurant, and a retirement home. It's my profession.

Day 296

Headquarters platoon is back at Camp Warhorse for two days rest and refit. I'm not sure if we really need to rest and refit, but they gave us the last two weekends off. There isn't much to do lately, they've been giving us details to do like escort the crane around to move the concrete barriers that block the roads. We were out for more than 12 hours the other day waiting for the crane crew to pick up the barriers. We made several trips out to the site in order to pick them all up. It is rainy season, which means it rains once or twice a week and causes there to be mud all over the ground. It's a pain in the ass to get around as I found out this morning when I went to take a shower. Instead of getting wet, I ran over there in my PT's and got mud all over me. Then there was no hot water so I ran back. I actually got dirtier. Last night I went and played pool and ping pong at the MWR for a while. I'm not very good at ping pong, but got a little better at it once I warmed up. Pool however, I can play. The tables aren't quite level, but one is better than the other and I managed to get a few good games out of it. After that I watched the movie 15 minutes with Robert DeNiro which is pretty good, then headed back to the bay to get some sleep. I can't say much for my time here, it has been pretty boring. I will say that it's going quick though. It's almost the end of January, and we're set to go home in May or June. I hope I never have to come back to this place. There is a small possibility I will reenlist in the future as an officer, but in that case it will be better treatment and all that. I continue to get lots of mail from home, more boxes from Dino are on the way and the Walshes and Mom and Pukka and so many others have sent me their support.

Concerned Local Citizens of Baqubah

The most recent developments here at the Joint Combat Outpost in Baqubah have involved the group of Concerned Local Citizens. The leader of the CLC's is Abu Matheina. He was previously a captain in Saddam Hussein's army and retreated to start his own militia group after the formal Iraqi Army was disbanded in 2003. The CLC's which number over 500 in Baqubah, are going through screening to become Iraqi Police. Most of them come from the group 1920 which is a militia that banded together against both Al Qaeda and U.S. forces at the beginning of the war to keep order in their hometown. The group has used guerilla tactics like suicide bombing, car bombs and sniper fire. All of these can be very demoralizing to our more powerful force but cannot stop it.

At this point we have identified most of the active members and are encouraging them to join the Iraqi Police force. In the past ten days we have converted the paper records of the Iraqi government into a computer database, and more importantly taken their fingerprints and a retina scan of each member. I took part in searching them as they lined up outside the compound en masse. Anyone entering the compound must be searched for weapons and possibly explosives.

This documentation process has taken place at several locations. Today our headquarters platoon went to the water treatment plant in town and stood guard while another 120 of the CLC's were registered. The process took about four hours. Another important event was the opening of a new traffic route in town. Route Gold as it is called was sectioned off with concrete barriers for a long time in order to stop the flow of weapons and contraband into Baqubah.

It is hard to believe that a further increase in security is needed. When we drive down the main roads in our Stryker vehicles, there are IP's everywhere directing traffic and throngs of people. Iraqi Army soldiers help with the job and are more reliable. Occasionally they fire their weapons in an attempt to direct traffic and get people to move. Traffic laws are not what they should be and there is a wide range of vehicles on the roads including cars, trucks, minibuses and donkey carts.

Our company continues to patrol the area on foot and mounted in vehicles. There is less and less of a concern for violence as the Iraqi forces take over. One concern is that the groups will be too segmented and turn against each other, reverting to old conflicts between regions in the past. A strong central government will be necessary to direct the nation's security.

Stuck in Balad 2: Broken down Stryker

Two days ago our headquarters platoon took part in a convoy mission to Balad Airforce Base. We were the security for the large flatbed trucks carrying supplies back from Warhorse, and a few passengers rode along with us. Private Hebert who is new to our platoon is being trained to drive the Stryker. While crossing a narrow bridge, he scraped the slat armor on the side of the vehicle against the guard rails, ripping a large piece of it off and bending it up pretty good. Shortly before entering Balad airforce base, he drove our Stryker into the mud on the side of the road as we passed another convoy on the left. The right side of the vehicle got stuck, and in an attempt to free the vehicle from the rut he blew out the transmission. We used the lead vehicle to tow the Stryker for a few miles to the mechanics bay and then proceeded to wait for the rest of the day for a replacement engine. They also put an exhaust cover on for us so the dirty exhaust doesn't blow in my face when we drive now. They didn't fix the slat armor though. Private Hebert wasn't really punished, because he is still being trained.

The chow hall in Balad is nicer than at Warhorse, but it was kind of a drag waiting around for almost 12 hours for the new engine and interior work to get done. We slept in the transient housing where I stayed before going on leave for a few hours before getting going the next morning. From Balad to Camp Warhorse, a trip that takes 15 minutes by helicoptor, takes about an hour in a motor convoy. You have to consider however that back in October I waited for five days to get on the list for the short helicoptor flight. Go figure. We all got to eat good food and go to the PX as well. We kind of made it into a good time.

We got back to Camp Warhorse the next day for the Super Bowl, which was on at 0230 in the morning. Everyone packed into the chow hall where there are a bunch of TV's on the walls. Of course the more serious fans were in the better seats hooting and hollering. There was lots of food and snacks for the occasion but no beer which is kind of a shame.

This deployment is not all work, in fact there is a lot of down time to hang out and socialize and do what you want. There is a lot of weight lifting and the supplements which go along with it are in high demand. I tried them for a while, but they get expensive. Some guys have spent thousands of dollars in the pursuit of getting bigger. You can always tell the guys that have more time on their hands, because there's signs they lift weights every day. Everything in moderation, that's what I say.

Day 314

Three days ago there was a protest at the government center involving all the Concerned Local Citizens (CLC's) and much of the youth from Baqubah. The crowd numbered around 500 and there was a drum circle that played along to the chants of the people. We drove our Strykers through the mass on Route Venessa. The company commander had a meeting with Abu Matheina, leader of the CLC's. I spotted Metheina smiling at us as we passed.

The problem now is that after documenting all of the CLC members, they refuse to join the ranks of the IP's and are now protesting their treatment. It is hard to say whether the problem will be resolved in a satisfactory manner. A lot of the violence going on these days is between the locals, rather than attacks on our forces. They're suggesting we should leave the conflict and the decision making to their people regardless of how ready the local police and the Iraqi Army are. Besides training their security forces there isn't much else to do. We have given them the framework they need to take control and now we are sitting tight letting the glue dry so to speak.

Third platoon ran into some trouble on a night mission last week while working with a team of Navy Seals, who do special operations here in Baqubah. The first incident resulted in two of our men injured. After clearing a building and finding a weapons cache, the Navy Seals came out and decided to frag (throw a grenade in) the building. Before they could do so, either a sniper shot into the house or someone with a remote detonation device destroyed the weapons cache with high explosives. A few of the Navy Seals had to be med evac'd and one of our guys took shrapnel in the leg. After the explosion the two third platoon squads were separated and lost radio contact. Some men were pinned to their locations, afraid to move and become a target. After a few hours radio contact was restored and the reunited platoon returned safely to the JCOP. This incident led the leadership to put out a message that a rally point should be set up before all patrols in case there are any complications.

Day 328

We have been given a redeployment (return) date from the commanding officer. Our company is to leave Iraq by the 25th of May. That leaves eighty-six days plus the leap year day tomorrow. The rest of our battalion will be leaving a little before us. We are actually separated at this point from the other three companies of 4-9 Infantry and are currently attached to 2-12 Cavalry Regiment. Our infantry company was assigned to cover the area of old Baqubah because 2-12 Cav doesn't patrol. Cavalry, or tankers as they are called, fire the big artillery guns and drive the tanks. They stay mounted in their vehicles and don't know the regimen of a footsoldier. This is only true to a certain extent however. The 4-9 Infantry battalion commander was a tanker before this assignment and he knows his job well.

Today headquarters platoon went to pick up third platoon after a patrol they were doing outside Baqubah. They were assisting a 2-12 Cav outpost in retrieving weapons that were found in the bushes on the roadside. Specialist Meek, who I went to basic with, was injured breaching a door. The barrel of his shotgun came up and bust his lip pretty good because he wasn't holding the stalk tight enough. A few months ago he was sent back to Camp Warhorse after his third concussion due to IED's. And now immediately after coming back he had another accident. This might be the end of his deployment.

It is almost pleasant to go out on patrol now that the weather is getting warmer. It's a chance to get your legs moving and get some fresh air. There have been a few small sandstorms in the past week as winter fades out. We can't patrol at that time and riding up in the hatch of a vehicle is torture. Riding up in the hatch of the stryker with the 240B machine gun is about the only time I'm glad we wear eye protection. Being in the desert there is always sand in the air and it gets in your eyes even with glasses on.

Standing elevated in the stryker is the best way to see the country in my opinion. There are always kids waving to you; giving you thumbs up, thumbs down or the peace sign. The Iraqi Army soldiers wave from their roadside posts or salute with their palm facing you. Riding from the JCOP to Camp Warhorse on Route Venessa, there are so many Iraqi soldiers and police that there is no point to scanning for possible enemy. The area is completely covered. I'm more worried about one of the drivers rolling the vehicle or running into another Stryker.

In the past week there have been reports of women intent on attacking us with suicide vests. There is hardly a way to stop them because they can just step out of a doorway and blow themselves up as in the past. One of our soldiers is still in a coma from the blast that hit fourth platoon. Last night a dog attacked our section sergeant and he shot it with a non-lethal round. The loud bang came as a shock and the RTO called it in on the radio thinking it was a bomb blast. I just looked down to make sure I was OK, nothing serious.

Day 339

It's finally warming up here and the days are comfortable. Yesterday the temperature was in the 80's and the sun is shining again this morning. The change is welcome because much of our job is done outdoors. The other side of the coin is that we will see 100 degree days before we return home. Wearing full kit and going on patrol in the heat can not only be uncomfortable, it can result in a heat casualty. I have started drinking more water than needed in anticipation of hotter days. It is mandatory to wear a Camelbak on missions, which is a two liter water bladder that goes on your back.

Last summer on a routine mission outside of Camp Taji I ended up with a bad case of dehydration. Surprisingly it wasn't as bad as some of the other guys who actually passed out in the palm groves where we were pulling security. We were only out for three or four hours, but the sun was so hot that it sucked the water right out of us. By the time we made it to shade guys were puking and falling over each other.

I went and talked with my friends from 1-38 battalion and it turns out they have been doing much of the same work we do. They patrol Baqubah leaving from Camp Warhorse either in vehicles or dismounted. Some guys only pull guard in the towers on the perimeter of the camp. One difference is that they go on TST missions, flying around in a helicopter waiting for a lead. When they get the call they land and drag the suspect out of their location. Sometimes the suspect is lying in bed or they will be hiding in the bushes near their house. Our platoon never does these missions. Occasionally we help with raids, pulling security along the usual routes in case the suspects flee. We can also provide fire support with the 60mm mortar. As of late we have been busy going to various public works such as schools and government buildings. We make sure things are running smoothly and that terrorists aren't trying to take control of things.

Yesterday night we took several detainees from Camp Warhorse to Balad. Our platoon ran security for the vehicle that held the detainees and their interrogators. It took only a short time to get there because there wasn't much traffic in the other direction. One hold-up is the narrow bridge that crosses the Tigris River close to Balad. Vehicles can only cross one at a time in one direction so it creates a bottleneck. If a convoy passes you on the road otherwise, only one convoy may move at a time. The other must pull to the side and wait. This is to avoid accidents or confusion in case of an attack.

Once we reached Balad we went directly to the PAX terminal. The detainees were supposed to board a plane and go to a green zone where they will be questioned and eventually put on trial. We arrived around 1030 the plane was scheduled to take off at 0100. Some of the guys used the time to go to the PX which is larger and better than the one at Warhorse. I stayed back and took a nap in the Stryker. When 0100 rolled around, the plane that was scheduled to take the detainees was having engine problems and the take off time was pushed back an hour or so. I went back to sleep and at 0230 Alex our interpreter woke me up. The plane wasn't leaving that night so we mounted up and took the detainees back to Warhorse. We will have to wait until next week's flight which is frustrating. At least I wasn't freezing on the ride there and back.

Day 350

Today is Good Friday. There is no mass service held here on Sundays or holy days, although the battalion chaplain comes around and holds a brief service every so often. The commander knows I'm Catholic and he mentioned it before our 1200 patrol today. When we reached Abu Matheina's house which was the destination of our patrol, there was a spread of Iraqi food in the main room. On most days Matheina's crew of CLC guards serve us tea as we guard the rooftop and surrounding area. Today I was lucky and served on the commander's team. That means I got to sit in the room where he and Matheina hold their regular meeting. As a result I ate more food than the other guys.

Lamb is a staple of Iraqi food and we ate samoon which is like pita bread, along with salted vegetables (yes salted) and lamb cutlets that were cooked like hamburger. The food was pretty good and it is a sign that the partnership between the CLC's and our forces is progressing. There is hardly an active threat left here in Baqubah. Al Qaeda has been forced not only out of the city but out of Iraq for the most part. Al Qaeda has tainted their reputation with the Iraqi people by killing innocent civilians and using unlawful tactics to fight their holy war.

The other day we escorted a food and water clip around all day as it made several deliveries to the government center from FOB Gabriel only a mile or so away. I stood up in the hatch of the Stryker assisting the driver through tight squeezes and around barriers. The slat armor on the Stryker makes it almost too large for the streets here and traffic must yield no matter what. On the day we escorted the clip around there was a lot of traffic on route Venessa and we had to stop and wait for the IP's to clear the road of the line of civilian vehicles. Even with two sides to the road, there was enough traffic to clog the whole thing. Towards the end of the day we took a break in the staging area near the gate of FOB Gabriel where we loaded up the supplies.

Day 365

It has been a year since our unit arrived in Kuwait. We were originally slated for a 495 day deployment, but that has been cut short. President Bush vetoed the bill that would have brought us home much earlier, maybe before the end of last year. Everyone has had their fill of the desert and wants to go home to their family and friends.

New Iraqi Army soldiers arrived a few days ago and are being incorporated into their jobs here at the JCOP. I met a group of them on guard today, both enlisted men and officers. They are generally friendly and always ask the same questions like are you married, do you have kids and have you been to New York. A few of them went to the market to get lunch for everyone and they got me something too. We only get breakfast and dinner chow here at the JCOP so it was nice to get a small sandwich to tide me over. The sun is shining every day and the temperature has been in the 80s. Hopefully we will miss most of the heat that comes with the summer. At night it doesn't get too cold either.

The rest of my squad is out on a mission with one of the bravo platoons. I am at the JCOP pulling guard at the back gate. The situation has both good and bad qualities. There is a chance the team will fire the 60mm mortar without me so I will miss some action. It is kind of fun to fire the mortar handheld, but it is a pain to clean up all the packaging from the round casings. The team will be gone for two days and I have the room where we stay to myself. It is relatively quiet so I can read.

Baseball season has started up and everyone has been watching the NCAA basketball tournament on our satellite TV. I hope they broadcast hockey playoffs on ESPN, the Penguins are 1st place in the East going into the playoffs. I might have to wait till next season to see the action.

Day 377

Yesterday a bomber detonated a vehicle borne IED in front of the government center here in Baqubah. Over 40 people were killed and many more were injured. Bombings took place in Baghdad and Mosul in the north the same day, so the bombing here was part of a series of attacks. I was sitting at one of the computers in our upstairs computer room when there was a large bomb blast somewhere close by. You can usually tell the bigger ones because the shockwave rocks the building more. Immediately people started to speculate on what happened. About a half an hour later our headquarters platoon along with the commander and first sergeant were on the way to Camp Warhorse to get the vehicle mounted bomb squad (EOD) and escort them to the site. We had to take a roundabout route to get to Warhorse because the bombing occurred in the middle of heavy traffic on the route we usually take.

It is really terrible that there were so many civilian casualties. I'm not sure how many Iraqi Police if any were hurt, but the bombing targeted civilians, not our forces. Our platoon drove through the crowded street less than an hour before the bomb went off while on a different mission. I feel very lucky we weren't there because a bomb of that size would have injured us even if we were in our vehicles.

Riding through the center of town today I noticed a mark on the pavement where the bomb went off. There was barely any traffic, in stark comparison to the traffic jam there the day before. I looked at some of the Iraqi Army soldiers standing guard on the side of the road there and they looked disturbed. They may have helped haul the bodies off.

Although things have been quiet here for the most part, there is a constant threat. According to Rear Adm. Greg Smith “They (Al Qaeda) no longer possess the capability to terrorize and intimidate major population centers or large swaths of Iraq’s countryside, but they certainly maintain both the will and the capacity to indiscriminately kill and maim innocent Iraqi citizens with vehicle and suicide bombs”
--http://www.gadsdentimes.com/article/20080416/ZNYT03/804160331/1003/NEWS

I have learned that the conflict is not what you expect or what you want it to be, and that bombings or attacks will come at odd times. We are trained to spot roadside bombs and suspicious vehicles, but there isn't much we can do when the attacks are so few and far between. With less than two months left my main concern at this point is to make it out of here safely. Whether the Iraqi Army and Police are trained and competent to take over our duties or not, I am ready to get out of here.

In other news, a number of our guys have been arrested while on leave or have gone AWOL. One soldier is rumored to have joined the UFC rather than coming back from leave. It's true he is a fighter but I have no idea what he's up to. Less recently one of our guys committed arson while on leave and went to prison rather than come back to our unit. Several others have been arrested on leave for drunk driving and spousal abuse and their return was delayed.

The list goes on - there was a guy from my squad that didn't show up the day we deployed. Instead he stayed back and was attached to a different brigade. Word came around that he landed in jail as well; there was a bench warrant out for his arrest in Louisiana. One of our sergeants supposedly went crazy and insisted that he couldn't take it any more, he needed a drink of whiskey. I was on leave at the time, and when I came back he wasn't with us.

This is not to say all our men are criminals or capable of evil deeds. We have a lot of stand up guys that are here to fight for our country and our people and that includes myself. In fact our unit is statistically one of the better ones. There is enough stress and bad feelings around here that people want to leave for good. Going AWOL isn't the solution though because they usually drag you back.

Day 385

The other day we went to the government center and stood guard for a team of civilian contractors. The team had their own security guards, but we helped out too. We parked our Strykers out back as usual and waited around for an hour or so, sitting around or sleeping in the Stryker. The officer in charge asked us to pull guard at the entrance to the office section of the Government Center. I stood just inside the door where they run the metal detector wand over people and made sure the guy did his job. In reality there was no reason for me to be there, it just looked good. Hell, I'm not even sure it looked good with all the security already in place.

I talked with a few of the private bodyguards for the PRD team. One was from Australia, one from London and the other was from Scotland so they all began talking with an accent that I couldn't understand. Once they caught on that I was American and didn't understand them they corrected their speech. I picked up a valuable fact from one of them: last week's bombing was done by two IP sergeants, and there were actually two vehicles in the attack. They tried to penetrate the GC gate with the second vehicle but failed, and then the explosive wouldn't go off or they didn't have the guts.

Two new mortarmen have been added to our group. It's odd to get two new members so late in the deployment. For one we are getting ready to pack up and leave. Also we don't really fire the mortar over here so they're just wasting their time. What else are they supposed to do though, I guess there's no point to staying back at Fort Lewis. They're both Hispanic.

Day 390

Aco. 4-9 will spend the next month getting ready to return home. We sprayed fresh bumper numbers on the Strykers so they can be shipped from Kuwait by boat. Some men will have to stay with the vehicles on a special detail and return home a few weeks later. It takes about a month to make the trip. I heard today that the 4-9 battalion advance party is already back in the states. That party is mostly the people that do all the paper work, lucky them.

Two new mortarmen have arrived and been incorporated into our platoon. One has college credit and has been given the rank of Private First Class. I came in a Specialist for completing my degree. It is odd to get new people so late in the deployment. The day after they arrived our platoon went back to Camp Warhorse and began packing our extra equipment into shipping containers, theirs included. That's the way the Army runs things. No point in having them sit back at Fort Lewis until we redeploy.

The Iraqi Army continues to improve their operations here in Baqubah. More and more they look like professional soldiers. It isn't just their conduct but also their numbers that will determine when U.S. forces can hand over control. I heard that as of now there are enough IA to cover 50 percent of Iraq. I spoke with one IA Lieutenant that is a professional soldier and served in the Iraqi Army under Saddam Hussein. He says there have been drastic improvements made to their forces since we stepped in, both training wise and in regards to equipment and organization. Iraqi soldiers now carry M16s and officers have M4s. They patrol in our humvees and old armored personnel carriers. I have seen them in MRAPs as well which is a big deal.

Iraqi Army outposts are not up to par however. They continue to patrol out of old buildings without necessary fortifications. Road checkpoints are guarded out of small bunkers, parked vehicles or from behind concrete barriers. I'm guessing that the construction and engineering section of their army is ailing or nonexistent. Whenever we pass their posts in our Strykers we wave to them. They seem content with their situation but obviously they do not have the training and work ethic that we do. I'm not sure their situation can even be improved greatly, the cultural standard for their army is just more relaxed.

My main concern is still to get out of here unharmed. Pretty soon a new unit from a different brigade will show up and start doing our patrols. I have managed to make it through this deployment without firing my personal weapon (M4). I haven't been in a vehicle when it hit an IED. I have not been in a firefight and there have been no training accidents in our platoon. With all that said, I will not consider myself safe until I am on the tarmac at Balad and board the plane for Germany. Not much more to go, just hanging in there bearing the heat.