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 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.