July 07, 2004

Update from Iraq

From the front lines... It's a bit long, please read through to see what is happening that the media is not making all of us aware of. And, please continue to pray for our soldiers there, not only for their well-being and safety, but also for their mission, which is much more encompassing than what we think or hear about. As you will see, these guys deal with a lot more than we know, including some health issues. I've left the soldier's name off, but do have his permission to post this.

Update from Iraq….just want to start by saying “Thanks” to everyone that has sent letters, email, packages, and most of all your prayers. Great to hear what is going on back home, helps me to keep in touch. We call ourselves ‘short-timers’ because we have only 11 months left (hopefully). Still very busy here, some days we wake up and don’t even know what day of the week it is. Just tell me if I’m going back outside the wire, running Entry Control Points or just name the detail. Our schedule (if you want to call it that) shifts from days to nights and back again so often we sometimes look like zombies when we get up. Guess I won’t complain about set work schedules ever again. For the most part we are doing well. No injuries, so if we look at that angle we are actually doing very well.

I think I’m dwindling away to nothing… should be under 180 lbs. I left the states around 200 lbs. My pants are always falling down, so I had to start using suspenders. I suppose it doesn’t help that I have a pistol strapped to my belt and cargo pockets full of gear… I always thought Tim [his son] looked funny carrying around all his toys, camping gear and stuff on his belt and more coins and collectables in his pockets than the pawn shops. I guess “Dear ol’ Dad” took after his son this time.

I’ve cut back on the eating! I know that is a shock for all to hear. Since the gall bladder attacks were getting more frequent, and the Doc won’t send me to Germany for surgery, I thought the best option would be to watch my eating. Yes, you can watch your eating on a military diet. Lots of veggies, rice and small portions of meat. I have a case of pears in my room right now. I can only eat about ½ the food on my plate. Mom would not be happy… “Gotta clean up your plate”! Of course the goodies we have been sent make it hard to walk to the chow hall. Today we determined the walk back from the chow hall is much longer. Must be the heat, full belly, and shorter steps make for a longer walk… Ha! Our chow hall is about ¾ mile away… yep getting excersize! As for the gall bladder [He has some gall bladder attacks/issues] (because many have asked)… the Army has to prioritize surgeries. A soldier that was shot or soldier that can eat veggies for a year. So I’ll eat veggies for a year.

The temperature fluctuates around 105-120 degrees. Today it was 112. Feels like you are walking into a huge furnace vent. Hot air blows on ya, then you sweat like a pig and then the hot air feels cool as it evaporates. Crazy cycle here. We are literally ringing wet when we come off of patrols. We take off our body armor and you would think we just climbed out of a swimming pool.

The Army just put up a new PX here on Camp Victory. It has most of the things we need, has a bazaar the local Iraqis sell stuff from, gift shops, phone center, barber shops. It’s like a little mall made from tents. Today Toby Keith and Ted Nugent were at the mall singing and signing autographs.

Attacks in our sector in the last month has been minimal. We have been blowing up UXO (unexploded ordinance) as fast as we can find it. From mortars, rockets and anti aircraft shells to artillery rounds and powder canister. The stuff is all over the place, left by the Iraqi's after the war. The platoons have a race to see who can find the most and blow it up. It’s kind of like the icing on the cake when EOD lets us push the detonating button. One little episode we were out clearing unexploded ordinance, my LT was looking for a land mine that was left along a field (I guess someone happened to stumble across it). Anyhow, the LT parked his vehicle on top of the land mine and proceeded to look for it. Couldn’t find it so they drove away. Found it the next day with our tire tracks going on each side of it. Was quite the eye opener and we also learned that civilian GPSs don’t always give the same grid location as military GPSs. Another time one of the other platoons blew up some artillery shells they found, our troops and interpreter were a long distance away from the explosion site, still a piece of shrapnel knocked the water bottle out of the hands of our Iraqi interpreter as he was taking a drink!! We did roll a Humvee. Amazingly no one got hurt. Thank God for all your prayers coming this way! Others things I can’t really tell you about, but just rest assured the Lord is watching over us and your prayers are answered!! Completely amazes me almost everyday. A tradgedy back home that you may have watched on the news is that one of my Section Chiefs from Big Lake lost his home to a fire. No one was hurt, but he did loose everything. He did make it back home and is with his family.

Just a little more on the families and people in our sector. There are some very nice people in our sector. The Squads in my platoon are adopting a family, and each week we are on patrol we stop by to visit and check in on them. Everybody back home is adopting soldiers, heck we have to adopt someone too!! haha. It really is interesting the change in attitudes of our soldiers. When we were preparing for battle back at Ft Lewis, we saw the enemy as a nameless, faceless person trying to kill us and somehow everyone from Iraq seems to get lumped into the mix. After we have taken over our sector and are working with families trying to get them back on track with security, water running, electrical fixed, etc. You build relationships with these people and take great offense when we find outsiders messing around in the area. Lots of squatters, few screwballs from other areas miles away that move in and try to ‘stir the pot’ and turn the locals against us. Fortunately the locals see that we are trying to help them and few are buying into the stories.

As we have come to know some of the families, I have found that their way of life is different but aspects are still very much the same as ours. ie: Kids will always be kids no matter where you go, some are sweet little angels and others are little rascals, and you still have everything in between...I sure miss my three munchkins. We stopped by a suspicious looking gathering of men one night to find out they were just a bunch of guys that wanted to get together, have a beer and talk about the how things were going… no ladies, no kids, just the guys talking. The women go everywhere in pairs …hmmm …sounds like back home… probably to the powder room together also. Although that would be an outhouse here. Status is determined by what you own, not by intelligence or by character.

One interesting difference is back home if you are missing a bed for one of the kids, the neighborhood bands together to help get a bed lest we sleep on the dreadful floor. Here, everyone sleeps on the floor! They can’t afford to spend money on beds so everyone gets a rug or mat: simple as that. I went into a couple homes and thought -- WOW -- no furniture, no beds, just a table and bench. Must be poor! Turns out everyone is like that. Talked to our interpreter and he said only the rich have beds in Iraq. Everyone else spends money only on the essentials. Guess we better count our blessings, compared to these people we are filthy rich. I am actually reluctant to let the interpreters know how much we make, we make in one month what they make in a year… IF they have a good job. The hardest thing about all this is that Saddam Hussein and all his relatives lived in lavish palaces with the finest of everything and left his own people of Iraq to suffer. His family and people from Tikrit were allowed all the good jobs, everyone else came last. So when you see pictures of poor Saddam in prison on TV and the media trying to paint the US and President Bush as the bad guys, I hope, for the sake of these people over here that you will turn off the TV and remember this letter. The one thing I know for sure is that I, as well as every soldier over here would much rather be home with our family and friends back in the states. But for whatever reason God has placed us here to serve (Matthew 16:24-25)… we will and by God’s grace help some of these people before we leave this country. I’m grateful for my family and friends and all YOUR support. I’m grateful to live in a country as affluent as the United States of America and to have the freedom others only dream of. I am grateful for this opportunity to serve others, although I am half the world away from my loving Bride and my wonderful children whom I miss dearly. I am grateful that I finally see all the blessings I have in my life. I see that it is easy to take for granted of what comes so freely to us in the US. And last I am grateful for all your prayers and a Merciful Father who hears and answers them. By the time you read this the news will probably report that two more soldiers died today and 12 people were injured. One of our platoons walked out of a building in another camp north of here. While loading up supplies a rocket flew over their heads and exploded across the street. Amazingly not one soldier from my unit was hurt! ……Psalm 91.

Take care and God Bless!