5 Nov 2004 - A new month, which means we're getting closer to the end of this deployment. For those who are concerned, no, my unit is not one of those 6500 who have been extended. The Secretary of Defense and the President both stated that the Reserves and National Guard would not be extended if there was no need for it. The units that are being extended are active component units from the 1st Infantry Division and 1st Cavalry Division. These units were expected to leave theater after 10 months, but the extension has now taken them to the 12 months that all the rest of us have to fulfill. The additional troops that will be coming into theater are more then crucial towards meeting the end state that has been put out in regards to the elections. Speaking of elections, I have no doubt that the Iraqi elections will happen...I just don't foresee them going as well as the Afghan elections (if you can say they went very well that is). Now that the US elections have been concluded, I am willing to say that I voted for Bush. Personally, I do not believe the Democrats claims that they would get us out of Iraq any faster then the Republicans, was valid. The past has shown that regardless of who is in power, both parties will react generally the same. I have no doubt that the US will be entrenched in Iraq for more then a decade at least, and that I will be back here if I stay in the military. I believe, from my own biased point of view, that the insurgents have little to no intention of physically or militarily driving us out of Iraq, but to break the American psyche, and force the American populace to pull us out. This insurgency, while it is aimed at the soldiers and the Coalition partners, it really is more about testing the will and resolve of a country's peoples. Obviously, Spain, the Philippines, and most recently Hungary, were not willing to push their country's resolve, although I cannot hold it against any of their governments for pulling out. If our country didn't have 140,000 soldiers embroiled in this war, I wouldn't doubt that we as a nation would've pulled out. We've dealt with the anger at France and Germany for not willingly and openly supporting us. I am waiting for the windfall to hit from the 3 UK soldiers who were killed when they arrived in Baghdad. I pray that soon, we as a world will all agree that although this war may not be supported by all, that the Iraqi people will be better for it in the long run. Any arguments there? No...good!

I've also been trying to keep up with what the news media is saying in reference to this war. I just read an article from the Washington Post where a columnist states:
"Iraq has become a Catch-22: The definition of victory is a stable Iraqi government that can maintain security without depending on U.S. troops. But a viable Iraqi government, again almost by definition, will be one that can claim it ended the U.S. occupation and restored Iraq's dignity and independence."
I wanna know what this guy is thinking. Is this really a catch-22? If the first happens, then ultimately the second will happen. Once this country can protect itself, then I believe we will pull the majority of our forces out, leaving behind a small contingent of troops. The Iraqi Government can then claim that they were victorious in ending the US occupation (which this is).

Eh...I've got too many other things to worry about then what the news media thinks. I think most people know that Ramadan has been a dangerous month for US forces. Mortars have become a staple of the daily operations. We get hit in the morning, and the evenings more now then before. Daytime hits have been few lately. Probably best for the insurgents so that they aren't seen lobbing off mortars. The last time our towers saw them...well...lets just say that we're a few insurgents short of a full boat. I believe that Fallujah is going to blow up here shortly, just because it's getting close to the end of Ramadan, and for the Iraqi military to uproot the insurgents before the end of Ramadan, can only strengthen the Iraqi government's position as being chosen by Allah to lead the people. You don't hear much about that, but then again...we do live in a western world.

13 November 2004 - It's been almost a month since I last wrote. I've started writings a few times before, only to have to stop b/c everything that I wanted to talk about was considered sensitive information. Now, since I have some of my leadership reading this, I have to be more conscious of what I am writing. I was going to rant about the elections, but to be honest, I'm glad that Bush won. Despite a lot of the misgivings people have about Bush, he has been consistent in what you can expect from him. Even during the campaign, he was steady on his message and what he said he wanted to do. Of course, I think we all know that the campaign is nothing but a pack of lies. For me, the real deciding factor is that Bush was much more consistent with his lies. I know, it doesn't make sense to support a candidate based on his lies, but the issues were less important then character were for me. Bush's team made certain that he maintained his image and messages, even if they're not the best messages. Kerry on the other hand, he flip flopped all over the campaign ,ap just to grab the demographics. And that is what I feel hut him. He was a walking contradiction. Now, he did have some good messages, few of whatI can remember now since after the election I did a brain dump of everything I had read. I just remember that although I am a conservative at heart, voting for Kerry was never out of the question. His lack of morals and lack of sticking with what he "believed in" was what did it for me. ANyways, nuff about that.

I'm currently writing this sitting at 30,000 feet in a commercial jetliner as we scream for the United States. Yup, I'm finally going home for leave, and not a moment too soon. The past week (Nov 9-13), I have seen more enemy action then I have the previous nine months combined. And since I enjoy telling stories, let me capture your attention with a few more. Since Ramadan began, we have been getting mortared on a semi-regular basis. The insurgents go to prayer, then they come out and fire off some mortars. In the past two weeks, the mortars had let up a lot...down to one or two a day as opposed to the 10-15. The airfield next to us gets hit more often, but to be honest, just the sound of the explosions is enough to send the entire Battalion into a lockdown and accountability of all our peoples. Dreadfully painful if not necessary trying to find here everyone is at any given time. Every month, I make 2 convoys to the Palace to grab COMSEC keys from Higher. This last time, we had to move the draw day up in response to intelligence we had received about serious insurgent activity in conjunction with the Fallujah attack. Yes, I knew almost 5 days before the Fallujah attack that the negotiations were over and that we were going into the city, even while PM Allawi was saying there was still a chance for the insurgents to give themselves up. Never, ever believe that the military doesn't have a plan for everything...it's matter of if and/or when we implement it. Anyways, we moved the convoy up to a different day. Originally it was after I would've left for leave, but we moved it up to the day before I was scheduled to leave. No soft skin vehicles were authorized to travel in the city, which meant that only Strykers were allowed to convoy. So I hooked up with the neighboring Infantry Battalion, and they took me and some other SIGO's on our COMSEC run. The ride up was uneventful, but the return trip was a whole other story. Before we even left, we received word that the insurgents had cut off our primary route by setting up a roadblock which another Stryker unit was currently in contact with. Since out mission was to get from one base to another, we opted for a different route which would take us around the roadblock...problem being that this new route has, historically, been the most dangerous route to take. And, so it goes this time as well. We headed out in the Strykers, moving briskly through the city. Not even a kilometer out of the Palace walls, we get a call that a civilian contractor convoy has been ambushed, less the 5 kilometers ahead of us, right on our route. A civilian truck was hit by an IED, plus small arms fire was reported. The closest QRF was dispatched to backup and recover the civilians. Yes, they had guns too, so they were fighting for their lives against the insurgents. I don't know much more about the QRF then what I heard across the radio. The QR arrived to find a civilian SUV burning. Two individuals in the truck had been killed, and the other two were injured. The QRF evac'd the injured out, but as they were leaving the scene, they fell under heavy small arms fire, from multiple locations. RPG's were reported having been fired, but no direct hits on any of the vehicles. The QRF leaves half of it's force behind to suppress the enemy. Not more then 30 seconds away, the convoy I'm in is on high adrenaline mode. We knew that we were heading straight for them, but the reports were that the QRF had successfully suppressed the enemy. We cross the Tigris, and as we crest the bridge, we can see the burning civilian vehicle, as well as the remaining Strykers pulling back towards our position. We're given the green light to proceed through, and I can see that the vehicle commander, the Platoon leader, is visibly nervous. We're not off the bridge for more then 3 seconds when suddenly out of nowhere...WHOOMP!! WHOOMP!! Two RPG's detonate just feet away from the vehicle I'm in. TICK, TICK, TICK, TICK....hundreds of ticks as small arms fire riddles the side of the Stryker's armor, unable to penetrate into the crew compartment, It almost sounded like someone taking a bunch of wooden sticks and dropping them a tile floor. The PL, having ducked into his hatch, is directing his gunner where the fire is coming form. Inside the Strykers, there is a video screen which shows exactly what the gunner is looking at, so I have a perfect view as the gun sweeps right and lays off a salvo of .50-cal right into a building where just seconds before, muzzle flashes were coming from. Just like in the movies ladies and gents, the building wall became a dust cloud as the rounds tore it up. But, then out of nowhere, 3 more RPG's scream right in front of the gunner's camera. WHOOMP, WHOOMP, WHOOMP!! They had us in a cross fire. This was a bonafide ambush, with the enemy hitting us from left and right, from elevated positions. Speed is the one major advantage of the Strykers, and we were trying to use it. This ambush felt like it was 100 kilometers long, but the driver had to slow down to swerve over the median into the left lane to avoid a roadblock that the insurgents had placed for the civilian convoy ambush. Still, there is that ticking sound of bullets harmlessly flicking off the armor and the distinctive WHOOMP sound of exploding RPG's. It's amazing what things run through your head when your being attacked, and there is nothing you can do about it. I remember thinking that I didn't want to ride with the Stryker's on this convoy b/c there were still new to the area, and they still had a lot of problems with tactics, following the ROE, etc. But this time I was so thankful that I didn't insist that we ride in our Humvees. They never would've withstood this kind of barrage of RPG's and rifle fire. Then the next thing my head thought about was...I wonder how long it would take of sustained fire on the side of a Stryker for the rounds to punch through. I was quickly shaken out of my thoughts when the Sergeant in charge told me and my commo guy, to get ready in case we have to dismount and fight. Ok...not a problem except for on thing...a Stryker requires four soldiers to maneuver and run it...and there were only two others in that Stryker. Those two were me and my commo guy. No other Infantry...no other anyone. I began to run through options as soon as the gate opened...what was I going to do...how were we going to stack and come out of that vehicle...how far was the nearest cover. I locked and loaded, took my weapon off safe, and turned toward the door to give my guy instructions. I've never been more frightened than at that moment, until the anger set in that they were shooting at us, and I almost wanted the door to open. The day before leave, and here I was getting ready for a dismounted fight. Alas...we didn't have to dismount...the Kiowa helicopters showed up and covered our six as we made like a banana and split out of there. Assessment once we got back to the base was that we had been hit by at least 10-12 insurgents in a complex ambush b/c of the roadblocks and cross-fire, there had been over 12 RPG's shot at us, and 3-4 IED's had been blown up around us. No injuries on the US side, but we did have 2 flat tires on a Stryker. I wish I had a camera, b/c the amount of bullet ticks on the armor was amazing. The armor is strong, but the bullets still left a mark.

So, that was the day before I was scheduled to go on leave. I know, my wife will yell at me about taking unnecessary risks such as going on a convoy that I didn't nee to go on, but this was one of my soldiers going on a convoy with a new unit. I'd be damned if I was going to send him out there alone. I didn't see it as unnecessary he day before leave. I would've gone the day of my leave if it came down to that. Unlike some people I work with, I believe in doing what is needed to meet the mission. So we were lucky that day. But now, the day of leave arrives, and intel is pointing to a concentrated attack against the airfield. It could happen, but it's unlikely. The day progresses as usual with mortars on base and IED's in the city, until the hour before I'm scheduled to go to the airfield. An emergency mission comes up, which requires commo support. I'm getting hit up for stuff all the way up til the last minute. Tension is high, as some of the people I'm dealing with are starting to come unhinged when I refuse to provide them something which could affect the entire Theater. They were so focused on their individual mission, that they couldn't see my point of view. I get to the airfield eventually, and thankfully it is quiet all the way up until the bird arrives, save for a few explosions in the city. We load up faster then I've ever seen a bird loaded...less then 8 minutes to unload the previous cargo, load us passengers and our cargo. Fast!! No signs of an attack, but then we begin to taxi, and suddenly the pilot jerks left, and guns the engines. Not sure why, b/c there was no explosion. We accelerate down the runway trying to get enough speed up to take off, and it feels like we run over a huge pothole. Doesn't affect us any and we get off the ground successfully. But this flight is different...even more so then the one I took that flew out of Fallujah a month ago. This time we bank upwards at what feels like a 45 degree angle, suddenly banking hard right while still climbing. The pilot straightens us out, and then drops the plan down what has to be a few hundred feet, then pulls the plane straight up, or as far straight up as it can go. I say this b/c generally, when a plane ascends, my stomach feels queasy for a split second until it reorients to the ascent. This time it didn't. I felt queasy for a good 30+ seconds as we pulled a hard G climb. Not even a roller coaster makes my stomach feel like this.  And to top that off, as soon as he pulls this second ascent, he starts to pop chafe. Ok...I've sat outside my CHU before and watched C-130's pop chafe as they leave the airfield. But that usually only lasts for a good 5-6 flares, about 20 seconds. Not this time! We were dropping chafe for a good five minutes...expended the entire complement of chafe that was on the plane. BUT...the key was we were away and still alive. Upon arrival in Kuwait, I finally put two and two together when we got off the plane and an entire Air Force inspection crew had begun inspecting the plane before we had even disembarked. Someone shot at us, and I can only assume they were assessing the damage. I later learned by checking the Brigade newswire, that the airfield had been attacked with mortars the exact time we were flying out. That large bump...we ran over the mortar crater that had been created just seconds before. Which also explained why the pilot swerved the plane. The report also stated that RPG's were fired at the plane, but we had outdistanced the RPG range in a matter of seconds, and the plane escaped with nothing more then a blown out tire.

I spent over a day in Kuwait waiting to leave. Heard that the missions our unit was pulling had all been engaged. We had one minor casualty, but the Strykers weren't nearly as lucky. Me and my travel companion, the Battalion Command Sergeant Major, had begun to asses how hard it would be to return to theater if a soldier had been killed, but thankfully that was not the case. Not sure the entire specifics yet, but I can say with absolute certainty that the discipline that we're pushed into our troops helped save their lives during this tough time. Me and CSM were with about a dozen of our soldiers from the Battalion, and we all agreed that as glad as we were to be going home, we wish we could've been there to assist out people. Heck, even in Kuwait, we still run combat missions. All the movement of soldiers has armed escorts, as well as MP gunships. Not sure what the threat is in Kuwait, but they're taking it seriously enough. There are some people in Kuwait that don't understand this one important thing which I think all us Iraq combat veterans do understand...when you slam a freezer door, it sounds like a mortar exploding in the distance. I can't even count how many times someone slammed the door on a commercial water cooler, and my heart jumped, my pulse raced, and I stopped moving to listen for additional mortars. And all the rest of our soldiers were the same way. Some people just don't understand. I talked to a Marine who was going on emergency leave, and he echoed my sentiment. These REMFs just don't get it.

Now I sit, typing this, cramped on a commercial jetliner with hundreds of other soldiers heading back to the US for out R&R. Much needed as I was burning out fast. Then it'll be back to teh grindstone and our redeployment out of theater...assuming nothing goes wrong with this current fight. The reinforcements being sent to Mosul should help with that. I'm excited, and nervous, about going back home. Nine months is a long time to be away from home, and then try to come back and reintegrate, even if it's only for a short time. There's so much to do, so many people to see, and I still have a job to do even in the US. Uh huh...can't stop working the issues just b/c I'm not in Iraq. The Missus and I have a trip planned down to Florida for just the two of us...a nice time of swimming, scuba diving, and other fun activities. See you all after I get back to Iraq then.