Prison Break…(Part 1)

As the four happy children wave at me through thick window of the up-armored HMMWV’s it occurs to me that I haven’t seen children in a long time. By that I mean really noticed children; especially children who notice me and/or children who stop and interact with me. We don’t have many of them in the IZ. As a matter of fact, as I’m thinking about it, it’s sort of like that village in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang where children are banned. But these curious and friendly children get off their bikes, come to the windows and start talking and smiling with our second seater. It makes me think of the way I acted when I was growing up back home; a nosy brat. Only this wasn’t home… This was Downtown Baghdad – Actually this is better known as the infamous Haifa Street. And we are here to continue our mission of engaging Arabic media.

Today – we are scheduled for a co-hosted interview on Al Iraqiya with the spokesman for Iraqi forces in Baghdad and Fardh Al Qanoon; essentially my bosses counterpart. The trip out of the IZ starts out as usual but this time we're not headed down Route Irish… This time it’s the check point that my hooch mate, who works with IZ security, always describes as one of our more “interesting” areas. The moment we get past all the concrete fortifications I am amazed… Here is a bustling city. This can be Mexico, Czech Republic, Belize, or any third world country. A little more driving and we pass a large taskforce of US soldiers in their HMMWV’s followed up by an Iraqi CP. Razor wire… concrete barriers… crapped out buildings… Iraqi Police and Iraqi regular Army combined… this is an 80’s war movie set if I ever saw one.
This is where it gets interesting. We are told that we have to dismount and walk the rest of the way because our HMMWV’s can’t pass. The boss’s SUV with the Iraqi Gen gets the OK to pass through. We on the other hand get out of the perceived safety of our vehicle and start out on an adventure. Our convoy troops dismount as well and begin walking with us as an armed escort. We get maybe 50 meters before were told by an Iraqi Army Guard toting an old AK-47 that our M-16 musket carrying Personal Security Detachment can’t keep their long guns locked and loaded in this Iraqi controlled area. Hmmm… conundrum. By command orders they can’t be out here without their weapons locked and loaded. What we have here is a bit of a Baghdad stand-off as the boss’s vehicle is still driving on up ahead of us. We won’t keep him waiting. The three of us continue walking without our PSD. As we watch the boss’s vehicle turn a corner and pull out of site I start to have a real “Black Hawk Down” moment; a small under-armed detachment walking down a road to who knows where surrounded by who knows what. We come to the side street where the vehicle turned and there is bunch of ragtag civilians Iraqis types standing guard, more like lounging, at the entrance to this roadway. I wont bother to convey which militia they are most likely “unofficially” affiliated with but I’m will say its probably not that enthusiastic about our presence. Unfortunately there is no vehicle in sight - the SUV has sped off. We ask how far and get something that sounds like a mile… Whisky Tango Foxtrot?!?

Now that unfortunately sounds more familiar…

It’s been a busy day at the ranch. We had a suicide bomber in at the Baghdad Convention Center and DOD announced possible extensions to our tours. This made for a lot of work in my new job. The crazy thing is that for the first time here I actually did a lot more of what I was trained for. Not only writing and prepping but also engaging. Going proactive. We got the chance to go forward and lead the mission. Now that, I believe, is making a difference.

The convention center isn’t close to us but we had to go to a building next door to do some business moments after the event. There was something very surreal about going next to the scene of a crime while it’s still in effect… and let’s be clear that’s what this suicide bomb is… It’s a crime. It may be an act of desperation but it is still a crime and not an honorable way to present your grievances. Regardless of a War on Terror or a conflict of ideas, murdering innocent civilians with a suicide vest is inexcusable. Having to research the investigation materials after being near by was that much more unsettling and bizarre. Now I’m not excited about the extensions… I want to see my friends and family as much as any other trooper and honestly I am pretty much tired of being here – cough and all. But other than these high profile attacks I can see small glimmers of hope coming out of the new security operations here in Baghdad. If things continue in a positive manner and three more months makes all the difference between continued atrocities or eventually stopping suicide car bombs and vests, then I suppose it’s a small sacrifice. Now if we can just get Iraq’s neighbors to play nice…

Sounds unfamiliar…

During my fine stay here I’ve heard a lot of things. Low flying Helos, Car Bombs, rockets, mortars… you name it. However last night I heard something very unfamiliar. For a few minutes I thought it was a sustained attack somewhere in the city. It was an ongoing rumble; then another and another. Are we launching a full scale attack? If so that’s a lot of shelling for such a sustained sound. Even though I was trying to sleep – very late night – I had to investigate. To my surprise as I walked out of the hooch I saw brilliant flashes in the clouded sky and of course more of the deep sustained rumbling. Then came the rain! I love a good rain storm; especially at night. How amazing is it that I’ve been here so long and heard so many disturbing sounds that I forgot what thunder sounds like and what lightening looks like. I was so excited I just stood in the rain remembering a moment in my childhood when I stood out on the ranch next to my father as a storm blew in from the north. What a therapeutic moment.

The other great thing… All this water will pack down the dust that’s doing wonders for my “Baghdad lung.” So I thought… when I woke the next morning I walked out to a sky that was so burnt orange it would make most any University of Texas supporter truly believe God is a Longhorn. Unfortunately it just made me wheeze, choke and hack all that much more. So much for the therapy: Hook Em Horns!

I spose I’m becoming desensitized…

My R&R to Qatar was a good thing. The transit from here to there and then back again was not. You see mobility around here is not an easy thing and cannot be taken for granted. It’s not like a drive to your basic airport. It takes real work to come and go out of BIAP and the rest of theater for that matter. Convoys… Combat Landings… Constant changes to itineraries… all in the name of security. I can’t and won’t go into to much detail but the fact that it took roughly 40-48 hours to travel both ways with about 6 hours of heavily interrupted sleep on each side should give you some idea. At the end of the day it’s a real pain in the A**. The convoy down route Irish is an adventure all its own. I’m not sure I will never complain about the LA traffic to LAX again. At least I’m not being shot at (errr… at least most days).

On our trip back from Qatar we had a group of new Air Force types join our well rested group for transit. The AF folks have a very different rotation schedule than the other services. Usually half the time so they are always coming and going. Now we all wear uniforms… all have the same basic gear… wear the same battle rattle… basically we all look somewhat the same. So how could I tell they were “green?” They had that agitated nervous look of new troopers approaching the dark abyss of Iraq. I heard odd edgy comments, they made some stupid mistakes and they did everything (I mean everything) by the book no matter how frustrating and impractical it may be. Yeah… 10 seconds and I had this group sized up as fresh replacements. For some reason I a couple of them really caught my eye. Hmmm I wonder… Then I reflected back to 4 months ago when I was making the same trip and how our inbound group of replacements acted the same way; tense, anxious, and definitely impractical to the point of stupidity. Now I’m an old hand with this silly system. I don’t wear all the unnecessary gear, don’t bother with the much of the school trained non-sense that doesn’t apply to the reality of boots on the ground, and realize that if it’s my time then what the hell – It was a great ride.
Most telling was the convoy ride to the IZ. A few of these folks were in my ride and they were huddled up with a real nervous white knuckle grip on the chairs and a look of quiet terror in their eyes; hiding from the windows hoping not to see anything yet anxious for a first peak of anything. Yeah – I recognized that look too. Dave and I both had it on our first trip down Irish too. Desert training really terrorizes the hell out of you and then when you’re in the real moment you are so geared up for the worst. When nothing happens you’re almost let down. Now I’m riding 2nd chair… looking out the window acting spotter… and carrying on light conversation with the driver relaxed and ready to roll if needed. I’m aware but comfortable - This is just what it is. Even when we have an unscheduled delay and sit highly exposed for several minutes No biggie – It’s just the job. Sides I’m 46 hours into this journey and it’s really late or early. I don’t much care about the boogie man - I’m just eager for my bed.
12 hours later I return to the office… Odd as it seems I’m actually happy to be here. And look over there - The couple of replacements that caught my attention many hours before. Some how I just knew they were our replacements I don’t know how - I just knew it.

Yeah I’ve changed and in a few months these green folks will see and experience things that will change them too. It’s the nature of the beast.

Welcome back to the Suck Hollywood!

I was asked in passing today “LoveBreed – just how many countries have you been to in the last couple of weeks?” I had to think a bit on that. “Four – Four countries sir…” “Well welcome back you’re looking refreshed.” That doesn’t tell the whole story. I can try to catch you up but I’m a bit short on time. I think you’ll just have to wait for the Journal. That said I’ll give you a brief review of the past three weeks.
It all starts with a severe case of the Baghdad Crud (flu like sickness) – A trip to the clinic netted me some over-the-counter meds and a couple days of bed rest in my hooch to prep me for an upcoming trip.
Then I had several close calls with indirect fire – Yes it is like the movies (sort of) - No it’s not fun! Lost some friends to that IDF and an IED – Yes Virginia this is real.
Next…a trip to Kuwait, then UAE, followed up by a trip to Qatar. The trip took us into the belly of the beast – Our MNF-I Spokesman did live interviews with Arab media and even Al-Jazeera. Now this is what I came to do – Make a difference!
Next I heard excerpts from my handy work read by speeches given from 1 and 2 Stars to White House Spokesmen to the President. Wow! I guess they liked my work.
After the trip I went back to the clinic for some hearing problems (those damn combat landings cause a lot of ear pressure) I was scheduled for another flight in a couple days. What I thought was a case of the Baghdad Crud turned out to be initial stages of Pneumonia. This netted me a trip to the CSH for Chest X-rays. When I asked “But what about my ears?” Doc laughed at me – “Your hard headed Sailor - Hearing is the least of your troubles!” Had to go through some “rehab” and got lots and lots of meds. I’m also now the proud owner of an inhaler. Nice! So much for a good running time on my PRT.
And this led me to a 4 day pass back to Qatar… Via Kuwait which turned into over a week stay. Additionally Travel in this area of operation is a real pain - 48hrs of grueling work in both directions at all hours. Let’s just say I’m getting real good at convoys. I got lots of sleep and have some great observations to share with you but for now it’s been about 2.5 weeks since I‘ve been in my hooch so I’m going home. Hence, why you haven’t heard from me in a while - That and we have to maintain stringent OPSEC during hellish moments so there’s really not a lot we can talk about. Not that I want to tell you much about Hell anyway! I’ll fill you in on camels, green troops, and the wonders of Guinness Stout in the desert later. Good night, Adieu and Ma salaam alakum…