October 25

For the first time since I’ve been in the sand box (Iraq) I fired my M-4 rifle today. I deployed with and qualfied with a M-16 but was given this M-4 in June. An M-4 is shorter and more convenient for a print journalist like me. But the trip to the range on this base was half the fun getting there. The automatic transmission is our Humvee was set in a low gear (in other words the transmission was jacked up).  Needless to say the top speed was 20 mph. I mean the engine was really winding up at this speed. We were already running late and going this slow I knew we were really going to be late. We still got to the range about 10 minutes late. Lo and behold, the range officials were not waiting for us. They were stapling the paper targets as they waited for clearance from the base to shoot.  This 25-meter range also is near the wire. In fact the range officials  said we should watch out for bedouins possibly climbing over the berm located above the target stands. We fired 40 rounds, 20 from one position and 20 from another position. Also today I learned how to say hello, have a good day and good evening in Romanian. We have several hundred Romanian Soldiers stationed at our base. It is great, my broadcaster and I just asked these soldiers how to say these words.

October 22

As a Army National Guard print journalist, sometimes the little things can make your day. While I was sitting on a picnic table outside the Post Exchange talking to a friend this Sunday afternoon, a corporal approached me. She said excuse me but do you remember me. Of course I did, she was the driver of a Humvee I rode in from Logistical Support Area Anaconda to this base several hours away (it was a convoy escort mission). She told me how much she appreciated seeing her photograph on the cover of our newsletter, Desert Bulls. It was a picture of her and her truck commander preparing for the convoy escort mission. I mean she was smiling as she was talking to me. Talk about a morale booster. Earlier this week, the sergeant she was photographed with told me that since that mission, they have had no injuries or incidents despite going on countless missions. He too thanked me for the photograph.

Just a little background on this driver from Virginia, she injured her neck in the states when the car she was driving was rear ended. She has three children (she called her babies) and three grandchildren. I still remember when I wanted to lock and load (put a round in the chamber of my rifle) and she kind of freaked out. She didn’t want a loaded weapon behind her (I was in sitting in the back seat behind her). “I want to go home to my babies,” she said. In previous missions like this, we were told to lock and load.

October 12

My mission this night (7 p.m. our time) was to facilitate an interview with Lt. Col Larry Herke that KSTP of Minneapolis would air 10 p.m. central standard time. Herke, the executive officer of the BCT, would talk about the BCT’s role in assisting with the building of a water treatment plant and renovation of a playground in Al Batha. He was to be interviewed in the roof of our headquarters building (a former Republican Guard barracks on this air base). I would then feed this video footage via a portable satellite on a roof to another satellite in space. A hub in Atlanta would then retrieve the feed and feed it to KSTP. It is pretty simple transmitting. On a small laptop located in our office  it takes about three drop down menus to transmit. I had just completed this process to began transmitting when I heard a loud boom followed by two others. I stepped out of the office and walked down the hallway. Approaching in the opposite direction was Herke. We met near the stairs where there were windows. I opened the window and looked out. I could still see the smoke from where the rounds landed. Needless to say the interview was cancelled. By the way, there were two Soldiers on the roof at the time. One was the cameraman.  

10 Aug 06

The Al Batha Park trip

Late in the morning we took a little trip in Humvee gun trucks to Al Batha, north of Nasiriyah, Iraq. My mission was to research good locations for the Iraqi media to set up and conduct their interviews for an upcoming grand opening celebration of a park near a school. The 1/34 Brigade Combat Team had assisted in this project which was completed by local laborers. It is very cramped in the back seat of a Humvee and about the only way to take photos is to use a telephoto zoom lens. And the Army furnished the perfect one, a 70-200 with a silent wave motor (one mode is made specially for shooting out of moving vehicles). Along the way we observed young children, some I would guess were maybe 4 years old, running from their tents and mud huts to greet our Humvees driving on the road. I also noticed children playing in very dirty water alongside the road. I also photographed a white camel. After walking around the park and getting some ideas where the media should be, I along with several other Soldiers walked

7 September 06

Imagine my surprise reading Rebecca Santana’s article on the Four Horseman on the Dispatch website. I escorted her on a story south of this base (Camp Adder). She forgot to tell that some of these convoys are stopped on highways waiting for an explosive ordnance disposal team to clear an improvised explosive device. These soldiers in their Humvees sit on the highway with the truck;s engine running. The team I rode back to Adder with even had a standard operating procedure during these waits. They eat Cinabons cinnamon rolls that they purchased from a base near Baghdad International Airport. Getting back to these waits, you can’t help but be watchful for ambushes by small arms fire or even RPGs (I think you all know what those are by now). It is not very comfortable that is for sure. Speaking of comfort, we wear so much body armor that we can’t recline in the back seat of the Humvee to benefit the most from the air conditioner vent. Plus there isn’t any leg room and your legs start to really hurt in less than two hours. It’s not like you have anywhere to put your legs to stretch out.

  In another matter, I would say servicemembers do not like reporters. As I was walking into the dining facility here for lunch today, I heard laughter break out. On the big screen TV was footage of the investigative reporter getting pummelled in California (I’m sure you’ve all seen this footage by now). The same kind of reaction happened when I went to dinn

In yet another matter, I can’t believe the forum’s action on the Marine being promoted after serving seven months in Iraq. Especially the comment that grunts aren’t promoted. Wrong, I talked to a Vietnam Veteran last week who was promoted from private first class to sergeant in a minute’s time (his squad leader or sergeant was killed in front of him). Because he had the most time in service he was promoted. By the way he was spit on when he came home and even shot at when he debarked an airplane in California. He said he felt like going back to Vietnam if he was going to get shot at. Something that you all should know. One good thing, he was offered a first class seat on an airplane when he came over here. So thank god we don’t have jerks like we did in Vietnam.

11 Sep

A young female Air Force Airman sat across from me at the dining facility. I noticed that she had a puzzled look on her face as she looked at her can of 7-UP. She was puzzled on how to open it because it had the old pull up tab (from the 1980s). Her fellow Airmen sitting next to her said it took him three minutes to figure out how to open up the can. He said he didn’t want to ask for help either. That really made me feel old that is for sure

arrival in states

The morning of Sept. 16 I arrived with more than a hundred other Soldiers at the Atlanta airport to begin our 15 days rest and recuperation leave. As we walked down the gate concourses, we received standing ovations as we passed each gate en route to boarding our plane again (some of us were headed to Dallas airport).

At Dallas, the support was even greater.  As we neared the exit en route to the tram, there was a gauntlet of people from Cub Scouts to senior citizens welcoming us home with a standing ovation and the clapping of their hands. Some also shook our hands and hugged us. Most also held up hand-painted signs showing their support. Outside, ladies were giving away packs of cigarettes. If you didn’t smoke like I do, you were given a sucker. Once I reached my gate for my plane to Minneapolis, several of us were told to wait near the ticket counter. Minutes later, we learned that we were going to sit in the first class section. This was my first time ever doing this. For those of you who haven’t had this opportunity, you will be served soda in a real glass, warm peanuts and your meals will be served on a china plate. You also will use real silverware. It was support like this that made this deployment almost worth it. It is too bad our Vietnam Vets weren’t shown this support.

return to Iraq