Aco. 4-9 is packing up and getting ready to hand over control of the JCOP to 2nd Cavalry Regiment. The tour is almost over for us but their guys will have almost a year left. Headquarters platoon is going back to Camp Warhorse tomorrow night and we will not come back here.
Five days ago another female suicide bomber detonated a vest killing Iraqi Police and Army here in Baqubah. None of our men were injured. It seems that Al Qaeda is targeting Iraqi forces more than us. This is a good thing for me because I just want to get home safe at this point. Two of the Iraqi Army soldiers stationed here received awards for stopping a second suicide bomber and handling the situation.
Things have relaxed a bit over the past month. We have grilled pork chops and steaks and ribs a few times. The chow tent was taken down so we get our food from the chow hall at FOB Gabriel down the road. It will be nice to get home and eat some good food. There was a stomach bug going around for a while, five guys from headquarters got sick including me. I think I got it from the stir fry grill at Camp Warhorse but I'm not sure. I try not to complain about the food because the Iraqi Army soldiers eat chicken and rice every day. When we first got here back in November of last year we had to eat the same thing for about a month. After a while it became hard to eat the chicken and one of the medics said you can actually develope an allergy to poultry.
When people think of war they think of firefights with rifles and grenades, smoke and yelling, like the movies. That hasn't been the case for me and the mortar squad. A lot of the time has been spent in the compound waiting around and pulling guard. Maintaining equipment of all kinds is another big part of what we do. The generator outside that powers electricity to the JCOP must be refueled and tended to. It overheats every so often so a large camouflage net had to be posted over it. Dust makes its way into every nook and cranny so there is always sweeping to do. Trash must be picked up and taken out to the burn pit. Of course weapons must be cleaned periodically. When all the work is done a lot of the guys lift weights, that is the most common activity. I lift weights a few times a week but a lot of these guys lift every day. Even with air conditioning it gets up to 90 degrees inside and guys are pouring sweat. I'll wait till Fort Lewis to get in shape.
Welcome!
19 May 2008
05 May 2008
The Stryker
We have spent a lot of time in the Stryker vehicles over the past year. Our squad started in the mortar carrier, but the vehicle is not meant for patrol. For the first six months of the deployment the mortar vehicle was stationed at the JSS waiting to fire. We rotated out the two "trucks" from that location back to Camp Taji every five days or so. On occasion we fired the mortar but it was more of a training exercise to assure readiness. As a result I spent a lot of time just sitting in the Stryker manning the radio waiting for a possible call for fire. There isn't much room inside but there is enough to sit down and watch a DVD or read. You can even lay down in the passage connecting the driver's hatch to the main interior of the vehicle.
Our battalion uses several different versions of the Stryker. The first is the infantry carrier vehicle. The interior has benches on the sides and can hold 11 people officially but I have been in one with 18 passengers. The 11B teams use these vehicles for routine patrol and for missions. Examples of missions are raiding a house and bringing in a suspect or checking out reported terrorist activity, whether it be planting IEDs or suspected weapons caches. There is a lot of room in the back so you can haul equipment inside and on the roof as well.
Another variant used by our unit is the Mobile Gun System. The MGS vehicle is a Stryker with a 105mm howitzer mounted on top. This is better than towing the howitzer, but there is very little room inside for the three-man crew, making it uncomfortable. There is also a medical evacuation vehicle with a slightly higher roof and two litters on the sides for casualties instead of benches.
A number of additions have been made to the vehicles during our year here in Iraq. For one we put up sheets of bulletproof glass to protect the vehicle commander and the "air guards" which pull rear security. We've also put large pieces of ballistic fiberglass on the floor of the Stryker to protect against IED blasts. This makes it a little uncomfortable and adds some weight but it could save lives. The slat armor or "birdcage" is a metal fence that stands out a foot and a half from the body of the vehicle and will catch a rocket projectile without allowing it to detonate. We put them on right before we deployed. There is also a need for concealment of the men standing up in the hatches so camouflage netting was attached to the roof. This also provides shade for our guys or anything being carried up top. On really hot days it's almost a necessity for patrol.
The Stryker has been reliable over the course of our deployment. Considerable maintenance is needed for the engine and the tires, etc. We take our vehicles to the mechanics bay a few times a month for minor repairs. Most of the problems were worked out or identified before we deployed.
Looking to the future, the new Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle has some added features like the slanted undercarriage for IEDs and the full range of vision for the passengers out the side windows. There have been very few reported casualties related to the vehicle so far and it seems pretty hard to knock it off the road. Although I have only climbed in the back of one, not ridden in it, the MRAP seems fairly comparable to the Stryker.
For technical information about the Stryker, see this website:
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