a Soldier's blog

Seeing The Country

I went on a couple missions recently and tooks some pics of the countryside.  I will put some in this post and some in my photo gallery..  Its starting to get hot here.  Some of our hummers have A/C, but even with it on, we measured the temperature as 100F inside the vehicle.  It was 110-120 in the sun outside of the vehicle.  One of the missions was fortunate enough to have overcast skies.  I am beginning to loooove clouds since they do help cool this dry, hot, and lonely country. I am more out in the farm land, but do travel to cities sometimes.  Life here is definitely tougher as it has gotten hotter.  We had a couple days when the temp guage showed 120, but not sure if it was working right.  Others were showing 110 and 115.  I think my boys should handle it ok since we are used to the intense southeastern heat and humidity.  I remember finishing OCS at Fort Benning with region A's candidates.  They were all from the northeast, and boy these guys were falling out like crazy (heat injuries). Due to living in New Jersey for 12 years, I know there is humidity in the NE, but its nothing like Georgia.  We southern boys do handle heat well.  I now have my platoon drinking a set amount of water everyday, and most of them drink double that amount.  I mainly worry about my older guys who drink coffee a lot.  The younger guys work out a lot, and seem to stay hydrated.  Once its gets hotter here, I will raise the minimum amount that they have to drink.   Life here is moving along now, and each day seems to roll by faster than the last.  I am not sure when we will get to go home, and hopefully we will not get extended to stay another 3 or 6 months.  Only time will tell on that one. 

The towns that we passed during the two missions were very similar to the previous towns.  Some had mud huts, some had stuctures that look like the middle east's version of the projects.  The guys in my vehicle did notice this house and its unique columns.  It might be a current resident who is wealthy or a previous one, who knows?  We don't see many houses like this, so taking a pic of it was priority. 

Also, some of the guys in my platoon like to wrestle as you have seen in my photo album.  Two of my guys decided to beat up on a different platoon leader, other than me, ha ha.  I jeered his platoon because they weren't sticking up for him, and let my guys just man handle him.  It was funny.. We have to do what we can to entertain ourselves. 

On the way to our destination, we had to stop and pull security for another unit we met.  While pulling security, we decided to hand out some candy and beanie babies to the kids and parents waiting for the road to clear.  The adults were even more eager to get one than the kids.  Each were saying how many children they had.  One guy kept trying to reach inside my box for one, so I had to firmly tell him to back off.  I still ended up giving him one.  Many bystanders did not get one since we only carried a small box of them on the convoy.  Once we gave them out, there seemed to be more smiling faces around, so that was a good sign. 

Overall, the two missions went well, and no one was injured or killed.  It is a nice feeling to get back to the hooch and relax.  There is always a chance of taking a mortar round even after we get back, but hey, it ain't summer camp, as we keep reminding each other.  Well, gotta run to a meeting. 

An article about the release of photos of fallen troops.

http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-815234.php

Media Failures

I read an article in the Army Times (28 March 2005) that included an interview with Army Vice Chief of Staff General Richard Cody.  During his visits with Soldiers, Cody said, many troops tell him they are frustrated that no good news gets out of Iraq. "One of the recurring questions I get asked is, 'Why are there so many negative stories?  Don't they know all of the good stuff we are doing?'"

Here are some of the small victories Soldiers have helped the Iraqis win for their country, according to Cody.

• About 1.2 million Iraqis are now employed by their government.

• Some 1,100 new construction projects are underway.  That number includes 263 new schools, 67 public clinics, 15 hospitals, 83 railroad stations, 22 oil factories, 93 water facilities and 69 electrical facilities.

• Twenty universities, 46 institutes and four research centers have reopened.

• An Iraqi counterterrorist unit and a commando battalion are now operational.

• The Iraqi police force has about 55,000 trained and equipped members.

• Ninety-six percent of Iraqi children under the age of 5 have received polio vaccinations.

The April 16th issue of Stars and Stripes had a story about how attacks are effecting new recruits for the Iraqi Police.  "The Feb 16th 2005 suicide bombing in Hilla that slaughtered 125 police candidates waiting in line for medical testing didn't deter Salah Hamad, 28, from signing up."

"The attack motivated me to be an IP rather than make me afraid," Harmad said.  "If being here lets me serve my society, I am ready."

CPATT (civil police assistance training team) has trained more than 75,000 police.  Some of the 75,000 have only had partial training, so to get them on the streets as early as possible (not sure if they count in the official total of IP).  The goal is a force of 135,000 Iraqi police. 

I designed this milblog to keep family and friends informed on how I am doing rather than a form of media like CNN or NBC news.  Well, I felt like making an exception this one time due to our media failing horribly on reporting the positive things that go on here in Iraq. 

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty."
--John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961

Funny Stuff

I first want to thank you to those who have sent boxes, cards, and letters.  I feel like I am in basic training again, when mail was worth more than gold.  One family member or friend of mine has always been a funny character and I can't help but share what this person wrote in a card.  It is hillarious.  If you can guess who wrote it (besides those who KNOW already who wrote it), then I will send you some old Iraqi money. 

Dear Shawn: just a note to say hi and we love you.  We had home made chicken n dumplins, butter beans, fresh mashed potatos, corn on the cob, hot corn bread, green bean casserole, banana pudding, hot apple pie with ice cream, but I am sure your food is just as good.  I've heard great things about the Iraqi pickled goat entrails with a ginger chutney sauce with flies.   love, ........... PS-Remember old Chinese proverb:  Keephead Lo

Also, another Soldier sent me this picture today and I just have to share it.  I am sure these boys probably did not know what the sign meant, but it is funny nevertheless...

I know, it looks like a photoshop job.  It might have been, but still is funny.. 

More than PR

I went on a mission today and we had the opportunity to stop and help out a few families on the way.  I am a bit tired right now, so will not write a lot.  It seemed that each person who went on the mission took something to give away.  Each Soldier must a lot of loving family and friends who share our enthusiasm in showing peace to the people here.  It really is amazing to share something that we take for granted.  Simple things like a muffin, shoes, water, toys, pencils, stuft animals, and candy are items that we don't think twice about having and are often ungrateful for. The people here are just so happy to have anything.

These kids were sooooo cute.  I put some pics below.  The odd looking pic is from when I handed another Soldier my camera. When I moved my hand away from the camera and his hands, my finger got stuck on the lanyard and to the ground the camera went.  The next pic taken had the shutter half closed.. You can still see me and the kids though.  I think there might be more hearts won for the coalition.  We are not bad people trying to occupy a country, just caring individuals who wear uniforms and carry crew served weapons in stead of cell phones and palm pilots.  Its all the same, there is a need and America responds.

(The funny looking soldier is our interpreter)

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched but must be felt with the heart."-Helen Keller

Its All About The Kids

Today I was given the opportunity to visit a medical clinic in a local town.  It was a very small city, and boy it was poor.  The first thing I noticed was the sewage streams in the streets.  Each home had a fence or wall of some sort.  Under the fence was an opening where their sewage flowed out of.  Trenches were dug so that it would meet the neighbor’s trench, and so on.  When this is done, you end up with one big trench that flows, well, who knows where?  There are no underground tanks or sewage lines to take it to a local treatment facility.  Sorry to share about that, but it was just gross and it did not seem to bother the locals.  They did avoid stepping in it, but if they slipped into it, there was no attempt to clean up.  It was business as usual.

 

We checked out the clinic, which was very bare.  Here is a picture of the room used for emergencies.  It had very little supplies, and was more like a cheap hotel room. 

We are helping upgrade their facilities, which is obviously necessary.

One of the Soldiers in my squadron started handing out candy and shoes, so I figured it was a good time to hand out stuft animals.  Handing things out was difficult.  No one wanted to wait their turn, or even cared if the kid next to them got one.  Some were looking after their sibling, but that was it.  I guess with children who have nothing, its hard to feel bad for the next kid. 

I got swarmed with children and was unable to give them out one at a time.  The system that we figured out was to give them to our gunner, who was still in our vehicle (higher up and kids can’t grab from him).  He pulled some aside and then threw the rest to the kids.  Once those were handed out, then we observed who did not get one, and gave out the rest.  So, in then end we handed out the last bit to smaller kids and little girls who were more timid in scrambling to get one.  “Mista Mista!!” was all that we heard.  So, they have learned just enough english to get our attention.  I did have a conversation with one boy who spoke english ok.  He told me his uncle is a teacher, so he spends a lot of time with him.  They were asking me my name, and I would ask right back what theirs were.  Ali and Mohammed were some of the names.  One boy had a black eye.  Not sure where he got that.  Tough neighborhood and fought another boy or got beat by a parent, who knows?  He is on the left in this picture. 

Once we gave out all the stuft animals, they kept asking us for more and more.  I had a box of toiletries to give to the clinic, but decided to give it to the kids.  One thing that we learned is that if you want the kids to have something, then you have to give it to them directly.  Those who work in the clinic are probably honest, but that is no guarantee.  The items might end up being sold or something, so giving to the kids seemed like a good idea.  Overall, I think we won over a few hearts and minds.  They might be smaller hearts and minds now, but they will be running the country a few years down the line. 

Thank you to those who sent stuft animals and school supplies.  I will hopefully be able to give out the school supplies soon.  It’s more than a donation.  It’s being part of history and shaping another country’s future. 

“My God!  How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy!”  Thomas Jefferson

(I think we are all learning what ole Thomas meant by this.)

A Welcomed Visitor

Well, we had a visitor recently.  Yup, he is truly a patriot for taking time to travel and see troops.  Charlie Daniels is the MAN!!  I have no info about where else he was or is going.  I will keep it that way.  His safety is important and we want him to keep on his mission to serve the troops.  I have had friends who got deployed to Gitmo and he has been there many times.  With many of the detainees throwing their feces at MPs, I am sure his visits were welcomed. 

He arrived here with some band members, signed autographs, let us take some pictures, and then he played for us.  I got the chance to meet him aaand get a picture with him.  He was in high spirits, and it was no doubt contagious.  There was not enough time to have a conversation with him, but that was ok.  We had a long line of people waiting, and not much time allotted due to his busy schedule.  Once he finished signing autographs, then he played some patriotic songs, and rocky top.  A lot of people are mistaken and think it is the fight song for the univ of tn, but it is not (sorry if you thought that, roll tide!).  The highlight of the concert was apparently when one of the guys from my platoon got up on stage and played a few songs with Charlie and his band.  He was tickled silly because he is a huge blue grass fan and player.  I did miss the concert, but was told all about it, and my platoon sergeant took pictures for me.  The entire platoon wanted to go see him play, so me and one of my high speed sergeants volunteered to man our guard tower during the concert.  Boring, but it was worth it.  My morale is usually high, so it was more important to me that my platoon see him play.  Overall, it was a great day!  No one was hurt, and Charlie did what he does best (being a Patriot and Musician, in that order). 

"You only have what you give. It's by spending yourself that you 
become rich." Isabel Allende (my friend Shelley emailed me this one.
Thanks girl!)

Democracy At Work

Democracy is a great thing for those who appreciate it.  For the rest, it just is a tool to better personal gain, and not the gain of the masses.  I recently had the opportunity to sit in on a city council meeting in a local city.  I first found a seat on one of the couches along the outside edge of the room.  Boy, it was nice to sit in a couch.  It has been about 2 months since I got to sit in one, and it was indeed comfortable.  The room was rectangular in shape and had a long oval type table with the typical plastic chairs around it.  These chairs are like the cheap lawn furniture chairs that you can buy at Walmart or Lowes.  They are everywhere here, since fine wood furniture and lazyboys aren’t the big business.  The meeting had the three main ethnic groups present, including Kurdish, Arabic, and Turkoman. Neither of the groups seemed to dominate in numbers, and none were outwardly hostile to the other.  I obviously did not understand the language as they spoke, so I used my body language reading skills. 

The other officer who was with me had an interpreter that let him know what each discussion was about.  City projects, security, and general concerns of citizens were all hot topics.  If there was an issue that the coalition could help with, then they asked our interpreter.  The other army officer, and the interpreter sat in the couches as well.  No Coalition representative sat at the council table, as we were there just to answer questions, rather than be part of the committee.  After the meeting, I compared city meetings here to ones at home (some).  These council members were way more passionate about their job.  At home, its like, “ok, next issue, moving on, I am a dead beat…”  The best moments during the meeting were when they all started laughing.  Since there are no land lines for phones here, most people with money have cell phones.  Before the meeting started, it was put out that everyone is to turn their cell phones off.  During the meeting, our interpreter’s phone rang, and we all pointed to him.  Everyone chuckled and then went on with the next issue. 

The meeting was definitely an example of democracy in its fetal stage.  The best thing about it was that it is real, and people are involved.  With the old system, Saddam intimidated the country by strong-arming local leaders.  The Iraqi army were his pawns to have rape and pillage as he desired, or drop chemical weapons.  Sure the democratic system here is not perfect, as it is not perfect at home, but they are trying to make it work.  It is their duty to make life better for their children, than it was for them.  I have the same philosophy, and want my children to suffer less than I did (not that my childhood was rough, it was great actually).  Sure, we could have done things differently as we liberated iraq, but overall the greater mission of spreading freedom is being accomplished.  I read that there were a bunch of anti-war protest at home in the states recently.  I am glad they took the opportunity to utilize that freedom, which many countries don’t have.  I believe we are here to ‘in the end’ make our country safer.  For those who do not agree with the war here, please visit iraq now, and then join me as I visit it 30 years from now.  I am curious to see what it will be like.  No doubt--- I have nooooo plans on ever moving here, but it will be better here years from now.  I took some pics of the children hanging around the complex where the city counsel meeting was held.  How would you like it if it was your child wandering around town, climbing on razor wire, and begging for candy/food/water?  I want these children to have the same liberties that I want for my own future children.  What did they do to deserve a second hand life?  Some are destined to go to college, like the mayor’s kid, who got tangled in the barbed wire on the inside of the complex.  One of my Sergeants came to his rescue and got him untangled. 

The kids outside, what of them?  Life is better now since Saddam is gone.  Keep protesting and be thankful you have the right to.  As my brother David (ODS veteran) put it, “Pray for the fallen, and rejoice for the free.”  For those who support the mission, I along with voiceless millions thank you.  (Do you see the media regularly interviewing Iraqis?)

“Since when do you have to agree with people to defend them from injustice?”  - Lillian Hellman

(I mean US, but it could read for Iraqis as well.)

"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things: the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse.   A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares about more than his own personal safety; IS A MISERABLE CREATURE who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself"  JOHN STUART MILL

   

The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his. ~General George S. Patton

(typical Patton, tough.. but, where would the US be without him?)

Another Sad Day

Well, I am sure most of you got the word that another Soldier from the 278^th was killed recently.  I heard about the fire fight as it was occurring.  We apparently were conducting normal raids to find weapons caches and stumbled upon a training camp of some sort.  This is just what I heard and read from news articles.  Many of the enemy were killed, which was a good thing.  Some Iraqi Army soldiers were also killed, but I am unsure how many.  I do know that at least two US Soldiers were killed. 

Staff Sergeant Jeff Stephen Kennedy was killed during the fire fight south of Balad Ruz (one news article has his name as Stephen Curtis Kennedy).  He was 35 years old and from oak ridge.  He was also a veteran of ODS (Operation Desert Storm) along with OIF.  Some of the guys in my platoon knew him because he was a mechanic in the 278^th.  He actually was assigned to my platoon while it was at NTC during 2001.  One of the news articles reported that 2 Iraqi Army soldiers were killed, along with 15 wounded.  Also, 2 more US Soldiers were wounded, and at least 15 enemy were killed.  The media usually is wrong, so just know that we won the battle, and both sides had casualties. 

Staff Sergeant Christopher Dill was 32 years old, from the 98^th division (Army Reserves).  He was killed by hostile fire in the Diyala province, where the firefight occurred.  This is why I believe he was part of the same battle that the 278^th found themselves in.  I heard that the battle lasted 4-5 hours, plus clean up, and we called in gun ships to assist our forces.  The enemy apparently got the message that the Coalition forces do not mess around.  We use available assets to save the lives of our troops, and no unit is left hanging out to dry during a battle.  SSG Dill was a firefighter in buffalo, Desert Storm Veteran (24^th ID), Drill Sergeant, and received a Bronze Star for valor during late 2004, while working with the Iraqi Army in Fallujah. 

I am unsure how to feel about losing another Soldier in my Regiment.  I am sad for his family, who has to live life without him.  He doesn’t even have the chance to call home just one more time to say I love you, and I miss you.  I do not know if either of these Soldiers had wives or children at home, but with the type of great character both of them had, I am sure they did.  Please help me pray for their families. 

Thank you Stephen for your life and service to our country—shawn

Thank you Chris for your life and service to our country—shawn

Articles about the two fallen US Soldiers:

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=8087107

http://www.thedailytimes.com/sited/story/html/203368

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_64972.asp

Just Keeping Busy

Hey everyone! Things are well here and we are keeping busy accomplishing the mission.  I just wrote a long entry and the brower closed on me and I lost it, so I will be brief.  Morale is high and we are driving on with daily duties.  My platoon never ceases to amaze me on accomplishing maintenance projects.  A previous webpost about going swimming kind of got topped by another water experience.  It was not me this time who got wet, but my commander here. 

They were crossing that same bridge and the water level was high.  Half way through-- his engine stopped.  Other vehicles like it made it across, but not my commander's.  We officers don't always have such good luck, ha ha.. Here is the picture while crossing it.   It actually happened a couple weeks ago, but I forgot to write about it.

I have kept busy leading and managing my platoon.  We have had some drama lately, and many of you know my thoughts on drama.  I am just not a drama fan, especially when it serves no purpose and causes bad communication.  Managing drama is nothing new to me.  It seems that every job since I graduated high school has had its share of it.  Even when I was not in charge, I have always felt drawn to fixing what is broken.  I guess that is one reason why I feel drawn to counseling others (mainly 'at risk' juveniles).  The masters that I have now allows me to work with troubled kids, but not as a certified counselor.  Hopefully I can remedy that in the next few years, but we will see.

I got a chance the other day to pull guard duty for one of my troops.  I let him go on a mission to another FOB and we needed to fill his position.  My philosophy is that I will not ask any of my troops to do something that I am not willing to do myself.  It also served a purpose in learning how the day goes while guarding our FOB.

I know some of you probably wonder where the names of the FOBs (Forward Operation Base) come from.  Well, they generally come from local city names, or are named after a coalition casualty.  FOB Bernstein was named after 1LT David R. Bernstein of Pheonixville, PA.  He was an active duty Soldier stationed in Italy, but serving in Iraq.  He was 24 years old.  24 was only 5 years ago for me.  I get humbled each time I research a casualty.  I try to check each day online if there were any KIAs in the previous couple days.  Checking each day and reading about them is sort of my tribute to them, to help never forget them.  1LT Bernstein was killed when his patrol was ambushed in Taza, which is west of Kirkuk.   Due to his actions during the ambush, he was posthumously awared the Bronze Star.   It has been a year and a half that his family has had to live without him.  Thanks for adding them to your prayer list. 

Thank you David for your life and service to our country...  shawn

http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2003/nr20031020-0561.html