Hello from Iraq

Deja Vu! Today is August 21st, 2008. It is a few days more than 18 years since the last time I arrived in the Middle East. The last time was for Operation Desert Storm and we landed at Dhahran Airbase in Saudi Arabia. I was a Specialist in the US Army then, serving with the 82nd Airborne Division. There was a Dust Storm blowing so hard we couldn't see 200 yards when the air crew opened the cargo plane's doors and we were blasted with a 138 degree heat.

About one week ago, I stepped off a plane at Kuwait’s Ali Al Salem Airfield (thank God no dust storm), and as I sat there in the 119 degree heat, my thoughts as they often are, were on my wife and children. The worst part of being deployed again is not the heat or the 250 pounds of gear each of us has to tote to a new location. It’s the “Bye Honey, Take Care of the Kids” and the “Don’t worry, I’ll come home safe.” It desn't matter what I say to them, they will still worry until the day I come back. I talked with my five year old daughter, Mackenzie, yesterday. She almost brought me to tears when she said, “Daddy I miss you so, so much.”

I am a Soldier, enlisted as a Private over 20 years ago when Michigan’s economy took a turn for the worst. I first came is as a "four-years-and-out" guy. You know, someone who comes in just to get a degree or some training, maybe to get a new start. I had no intention of staying in for the long haul at that time. I am a Captain now, and could retire today, if I wanted, and if the Army would approved the retirement. But I am still having fun in the Army, and love the comraderie. The job is hard sometimes, but worth it.

I am a Military Intelligence Officer, assigned as the Executive Officer and Intelligence Trainer for a Military Training Team or MiTT. A MiTT is an 11-man team whose sole purpose is to train and assist an Iraqi Army unit in becoming an efficient military force. We just completed 10 weeks of training at Fort Riley, Kansas, and are on our way to Baghdad to begin training a brand new Iraqi Army Brigade; a brigade that has never worked with a US Advisor Team. Our Iraqi Brigade will be stationed in Southern Baghdad and to the South of Baghdad.

The Iraq Army’s (IA) success is vital to making sure the country is stable enough for the coalition to pull out troops, and not risk a destabilization similar to what Afghanistan experienced during the 1980s after the Soviet Union withdrew its army, creating a condition ripe for the formation of groups like Al Qaida and the Taliban. Since the US Military began the Combat Advisor or MiTT effort approximately three years ago, the IA has made leaps and bounds. Now my aim in writing this Blog is not to preach about the pros and cons of our current situation in Iraq or make any kind of political statement, but I do personally believe we, both the coalition and Iraq, are now on the right track for success.

We are only one of the hundreds of teams assisting in the IA’s reformation. My team’s job is to help professionalize this new brigade, and in the process aid the Iraqi army to gain legitimacy in the eyes of Iraqis. This will aid the Iraqi Government in preventing an insurgency and help it establish the infrastructure to stabilize the area. It will also give it the tools needed to stop the foreign fighters, such as Al Qaida, from disrupting its democratic process. If you would like to get an in-depth view into the situation in Iraq and what it takes to defeat an insurgency, I suggest you read a book called, “Learning to Eat a Soup With a Knife” by retired Army Lieutenant Colonel John Nagl.

So here I go again, another year away from the loved ones. Don’t get me wrong, I volunteered for this, and it was also my turn to deploy. I’ve deployed several times over my twenty year career, but not during this conflict. Things have changed a lot since I last deployed, fot the better. I have air conditioning in my tent. It knocks down the heat from 120 to the high 80s. The internet has opened up this area far more than when I was here in 1990 and 1991 for Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. I just had lunch at a McDonalds. The sign under the arches may have been written in Arabic, but a Big Mac is a Big Mac wherever you go.

I am wearing about 50 pounds of armor plates and protective gear, a vast improvement from the flak vest I wore during Operations Desert Shield/Storm and Joint Endeavor/Guard in Bosnia. The trucks are tougher too. We originally were set to receive the up-armored Humvee (or as it is spelled in the Army, HMMWV, which stands for Highly Mobile, Multipurpose, Wheeled Vehicle). We were just informed that we will receive the new MRAP (pronounced Emm –RAP) which stands for the Mine Resistant Ambush Protective vehicle. Depending on who makes it, the vehicle weighs in between 30 to 40 thousand pounds and a V-shaped hull that is very effective at deflecting the blast from mines and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). Yes we are much better off than when we first started. These improvements, along with the Iraqi populace’s improved support of the IA, are resulting in significant strides forward in this conflict.

Over the next twelve months, time permitting, I will send several articles, anecdotes and stories of my team’s exploits in Iraq. I should be able to send some photos and plan to keep the topics light, focusing on the day-to-day experiences of a Soldier. I do not consider myself an expert in any field, especially politics, and therefore will likely not cover those issues. If you would like to contact me with any questions (please no political opinions or requests for operational specifics) I will gladly answer your quetions as I have time. Please feel free to contact me through this blog.