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 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.

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.