Letters from Baghdad
 

I have a very good friend who was deployed to the Middle East as part of "the Surge" - I thought I'd share a few of his emails with all of you as I get them. Sorry that I started this a few emails late.

Date: Mon, 04 Jun 2007 08:50:36 -0400
Subject: Made it to Kuwait


Yes I made it into Kuwait. Got in about 9:30 local time and than we boarded busses and went on a 2 hour ride on a bus that keep breaking down. We were able to get all of our gear sorted out at about 2:45 am and I am now in an air conditioned tent with 9 other people sleeping on cots. The sand blows in every once in a while with the wind. It was a bit cool when we landed only 107. Today it is 118 and it is hot. I have been outside walking and drinking alot of water to keep going. I did sleep a lot on the plane and it was OK. We had plenty of food to eat and we were seated every other seat so we could sleep and relax, tried to watch a few really lame movies, but could not do it so I just went to sleep. Well take care of "Crash."

Sent: Mon, 25 Jun 2007 4:48 am
Subject: A day in the sand


Well it is another day here on a "different" beach called Baghdad. It
will between 1115 and 118 degrees each day this week. It is hot, still working the 14 hour day but do find sometime off when I can. Stillgetting the rocket and mortar attacks coming in. Have been warned more about the "celebratory" fire that could becoming in during the evening for there are soccer games going on in the evening. The Iraqis love to celebrate their wins by shooting off their AK-47's in the air. Of course they point them right across the river at the "Green Zone" Walk home each night in the 105 degree heat with the full body armor on and take your chances . The Army gunships and helo just keep flying in and out atnight and keep shaking the trailer and my bed. I'm starting to not get waken up as easy each night. They now have a nick name in the area here for us Navy people who were set over here to help out the Army. We are
referred to as "Sandbox Sailors", as we have no ships , we have no ocean but there is plenty of sand!! Well a good thing is the food is very good at the dining facility and you have plenty to eat.
I did have my success story for the weekend. I was able to get all my laundry done!! Today had to go and get another Anthrax shot. Well you gotto have the little success when you can. How is your summer day in America going?

Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2007 09:39:29 -0400
Subject: A day in baghdad...a long summer to come

Well I had to go to the chapel today for I had to get my last "welcome aboard" briefing from the Multi-National Force-Iraq. There were about 30 of us in the chapel and we had all kinds of speakers tell us the rules, (NO alcohol at all, even thought the State department people sit by the pool and have a few cold ones... No Beer for You!). Well of course everybody was armed so I thought to myself at least you can feel safe that the collection plate will be safe during mass. Just than I heard the loud whistle of a 107 mm rocket inbound to the complex, I dove on the floor and few others piled on. There is not much room between the sit/benches in church so you have to do what you have to do! Well the rocket continued on and landed somewhere close by.

Hey, if you go to church and everybody shows up wearing weapons and "bad guys" are dropping 107 mm rockets in on you. It is time to find a new church!

A couple of car bombs just went off in down town Baghdad and a lot of people have been killed and wounded. Military operations are starting and the "surge" is in place. It is going to be a long and interesting summer. The bad guys know where the "Green Zone" and the "International Zone" are and they just drop their greetings in when they want to. It was also told to me that besides the mortars and the rockets coming in there is what is called "celebratory fire". It seems that when the local are happy and want to celebrate they take to the streets and shoot off their AK-47's because they are happy, (in the direction of the green zone and international zone). There are some soccer tournaments coming up in the area to try and keep the people interacting and calm with each other. Now that will be fun!!

Well the 4th of July is coming up so everybody relax have a couple of burgers and dogs and your favorite cold beverage and just relax. Take care

Subject: A summer day in Baghdad...lunch at a palace

I spent a day "Outside the Wire" and had to head up to another
"Forward Operating Base", (FOB). It was hot, pushing around 105 degrees at the time and I realized it was time for lunch. So I made contact with a few of my buds and we decided to meet and have lunch at a palace. It made for a nice break in the day. I hope everybody had a nice lunch on 6/26/2007. Remember, in the summer you need to drink plenty of fluids and still eat!

Take care and enjoy your summer.

**note** Pics were removed from the email - TMI. **note**

A bad day in Baghdad!
 

Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2007 08:50:02 +0400
Subject: A bad day in Baghdad!

Yesterday was a really bad day here in the green zone. We got attacked in the afternoon by the "Baghdad rocket man" and his crew. They put 35 of the 81 mm mortars right into the green zone here. It was pretty bad; we had 3 people killed and 21 wounded all in about 45 minutes. I was outside going back to my hooch to get some paperwork for the admin people at the front office and I got caught out in the open. I heard the first incoming so I ran over to the nearest shelter/bunker and another guy followed right in behind me. He was carrying a radio so we could hear what was going on with the emergency response frequency. We could hear all he the rounds going off. The worst part was we could hear them "walking" there way over towards our shelter/bunker. The radio was pretty much telling us the same thing. All we could do was lay down in the dirt on the bottom of the shelter/bunker and just wait. The sand kept working its way in from the sand bags on the top of the shelter/bunker and of course it was 110 degrees with not air circulation but you just got make the best of it. Well the shelling stopped so it did not get to us. We waited till the "All clear" call, got up off the dirt floor, dusted the sand and dirt off and I headed back to the office to get the paperwork turned in. So how was your day in America?


CDR "Downtown Baghdad"

unwanted neighbors
 

Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2007 11:02:29 +0400
Subject: Some unwanted neighbors came over last night...wild west Baghdad

Gen Petraeus (4 star running the war here) told us here in the green
zone that we can expect a "Tet offensive" from the insurgents from now up till September when he give his report to congress on what is going on here in Iraq. He also put this out to the media several days ago. Well last night, this morning, it looks like several of the unwanted neighbors came across the river and tried to get in. They were discovered and the fire fight started. It was pretty loud with all of the mortars and heavy machines guns going off. We lost power in the area and my hooch was rocking with all of the gun ships flying out low overhead to get into the "mix" with the unwanted neighbors trying to come over. It lasted for about 45 minutes. The embassy has put out the warning about the high level/threat of kidnapping and being "snatched" in the area. The security level posture has gone up. Some of the people who work at the State Department look at you with discontent like you are ruining there time off with the security levels that are imposed. Not letting them park near building, (car bombs) being sniffed by dogs, (suicide bombers), restricting outdoor activities ("Baghdad Rocket man"going at it).

I was coming back from the palace last night @11:30 pm, (112 degree's) heading back to my hooch and there was this woman getting ready to go for a run. I stopped her and told her that first of all the ambassador, (and the Genera) has put out the instruction that NOBODY is to be outside without body armor and a Kevlar helmet and that the threat of kidnapping/being "snatched" is pretty high. This woman, @ 5' 1", 120 pounds, unarmed, no body armor or helmet, wearing dark clothes getting ready to go out for a run on the perimeter road at night by herself, I told her that she should not be doing this. She told me "It is none of your business" and "I'll do what I want for I work at State". She had a real attitude problem!! I just stood there and could do nothing as she headed of into the night to the perimeter road. Yea, my tax dollars hard at work paying her salary and her bad attitude!!
Well when the fire fight started at 02:30 am I though and hoped that
there was nobody out in that area running!!
That is life in the green zone when you have to deal with some of these State Department people. They just don't think it is real or else it will not happen to them. You got to deal with all kinds when you live in "Wild West Baghdad"

Well I hope everybody is able at the end of your day in America to get outside, (without your body armor, Kevlar helmet and you 9 mm side arm, gas mask) walk around your neighbor hood and see what is going on and talk to neighbors, (without bad attitudes) and enjoy the summer....

Take care

CDR "Downtown Baghdad"

Was this your note, yesman, or part of the email?

That was my note - They were there when I first got it, but they are no longer available. It's too bad they were of my friend in these absolutely gorgeous palaces and a few outside images that showed the area pretty well - perhaps that is why they are gone now. I really don't know.

Thanks for sharing.

I found a picture that he sent - lets see if I remember how to do this.

for pics from soldiers, you can visit the Under Mars site.

Thanks cloud, but I have some that he sent me and they are too big to upload - I'm tryin to remember how to reduce them.

Open in Paint, Image --> Stretch/Skew, Choose some number smaller than 100 for both horizontal and vertical. Repeat as necessary until it's small enough.

Last chance to post a pic

1 more

Honestly, that's not as decadent-looking as I'd imagined. Just looks like your average museum...

All 48 palaces Saddam built after the first Gulf War could pass for Vegas hotels/casinos.

Another day here in Baghdad!
 

Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2007 10:57:34 +0400

It is a different world out on the main streets of Baghdad. Here is a
clip that was put out on the news. Yesterday the weather was nice, only @ 108 degrees. The day was pretty quite, a soccer game was going on outside the complex in the "Red Zone" between a couple of local Iraqi soccer teams, (High school type teams I believe) Here in Iraq people celebrate things by shooting off weapons in the air, (of course towards us here in the "green zone") Well it looks like" team A" won the soccer game and their fans started shooting of their AK-47's, in the direction of the embassy so I ran inside, real quick! It seemed a little bit later a medic had to go and help an ambulance crew for it seemed that a fan of "team A" was happy that they won the game. A fan of "team B" was upset in the celebration that this "team A" fan was doing so he decided to "hose" him down with his AK-47, and he did. No one arrested, no crime I guess. I know Philadelphia Eagles fans can be pretty bad, but not like this!!!

It just seems a bit crazy to me. You try to encourage people to get
out and go to safe area, (as safe has you can get it here in Baghdad)
with their families and neighbors and try to enjoy life so they can find
some happiness in the area. They seem to have a good time and end up shooting up the place! You got the "Baghdad Rocket Man" doing his thing, maybe everybody should just mellow out and go to a Grateful Dead Concert!

Now I know the Philadelphia Philles have lost 10,000 games, but I have not heard of those fans doing anything like this. This is one of those culture/diversity things that can stay here in Iraq!!

Take care and get ready for the football season coming up!

CDR "Downtown Baghdad"

I agree Clod - there are other pics I have that all look "really nice" Nothing too outlandish to me although I hear that after the looting and whatnot a lot of the "really insane" over-the-top stuff was stolen.

Now most of them are US bases. :D poor fella.

That doesn't make me feel any better - He's dead and gone - Whats the average Iraqi think about us doing that? They are the ones we are supposedly there for - remember?

Oooooh! So that's why were there.

"They are the ones we are supposedly there for - remember?"
Comment withdrawn - my bad.

Well, it's a good reminder of the difference between the reasons we were given for going there, and the current, we broke it, how will we fix it, dilemma we're in.

That is our damn dilemma, too. I'd love to simply walk away, but my sense of right and wrong tells me that wouldn't be fair play.

Back to yesmans friend- The thing that always gets me is the incredible amount of gear these guys are carrying in 115 degree heat. It's friggin insane.

I don't know if we broke it or we just realized, after being there, how effed up it was. Either way, the situation cannot continue and if we can help, I believe we should.

I also agree that we cannot just simply walk away - that would be the worst thing to do. I would like nothing more than for every soldier to come home, but that is not going to happen.

Yeah Griff - he was telling me that after just having it on for 10 - 20 minutes he was tired simply walking - and that was before he got into the heat. Motor function, dexterity and mobility drop way down making me wonder how these guys fight a war with all of it.

I agree walking away would be devastating and I really do help things go for the best for the Iraqis and everyone else in Middle East and the world but the question is practicality. We have just found out that we do not have unlimited power and can not do everything we want the hard way so we can not ask what should we do but what can we do.

As long as the Iraqi nationalists are on our side (other groups are waiting the results of 1920) we should stay but if things do go wrong, which is a good chance since there are many tensions between them and the Iraqi police, we need to ask what is practical.

If 1920 does fail, I am not totally convinced that by us staying there will solve anything, but just prolong the inevitable.

I suspect we will be there in some capacity for many years to come, in force or otherwise.

We know we'll be there in some form for years to come no one denies that - dem or reaper-publican - thats a freakin' given. The question is - In what capacity?

Sent: Fri, 27 Jul 2007 6:12 am
Subject: The wild wild West of Baghdad is getting stranger as the week goes on!


Well summer is in full swing here in the Wild Wild West of Baghdad. We
are having temperatures getting above 120 degrees each day. It will be
like that for the next 6 weeks HOT! We made the news again yesterday
and it was not a good thing. Well first off I was coming back from
dinner last night @ 6 pm Baghdad time, I was back in the palace and
than POW! ...Off went a huge VBIED, (Vehicle Bourne Independent
Explosive Device, a truck loaded with TNT/C4 suicide attack), it was
outside the wall of the complex. It was very powerful for you could feel
it inside the building and it blew out a window. I was almost knocked to
the ground by this woman running out of her office and diving down in
the hallway. It looks like the "neighbors" are getting bolder or more
desperate for they are now getting closer to the "International Zone,
IZ" here. We just got rid of the "Baghdad Rocket Man" and now it seems
the suicide bombers are now moving/focusing in on this area. The VBIED
ended up killing 50 people and wounding 49 all local Iraqi's. This type
of attack was also done a day earlier when the Iraqi soccer team won its
game and the fans came out into the street and one of those VBIED also
showed up and did the same type of damage to the fans

Earlier in the day a group in the Iraqi parliament announced that they
were leaving and not going to participate for a while. Well there are
all of these "benchmarks" that are to be meet by September, per
president Bush, and we are here to help them meet the benchmarks and
now they leave. It is a different world the way the process flows here
in Baghdad.

Later on this week the Iraqi soccer team plays Saudi Arabia in the final
of the Asia soccer cup final. We got to be ready again for all of the
celebratory fire and of course got to keep watching for these VBIED's.
Well there is only so much I can do, so I think I will do something
practical and that I have full control over. I am heading back to my
hooch this afternoon and do my laundry! I know it is Friday back in
America so after work everybody should just relax stop off and have a
cold one and don't let the traffic get to you, you'll make it home OK.!

CDR "Downtown Baghdad"

Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2007 20:01:19 +0400
Subject: A view of the home stead in down town Baghdad

I was able to get a picture of the palace that I work in during the day
and into the night, (work hours here are 07;00 AM till 09:00PM
Monday-Monday, 7 days a week), this was taken before the invasions. We
have walls up along the river, but as you can see, across the river is
where the "neighbors" live. The neighbors are not all that friendly and
I don't think you want to have them swim over and stop by for a cook
out. The "Baghdad Rocket Man" and his crew are some where in there and
he lets us know it...well, I mean he did...the U.S. Army found
him.....he has a different home now.

I finally got a chance to reduce and post this pic

The question that comes to mind is, how does the "rocket man" fire a bunch of rockets, on multiple occasions, from a location in an obviously crowded neighborhood, without 500 people knowing who he is and what he's doing?

The obvious answer is they knew, and at least, didn't care, if they weren't cheering him on.

Or, are reluctant to involve themselves in something that may or may not get them and their families killed.

From a Yon entry, the US Mil can tell pretty much exactly where a rocket has been fired from, once it's been fired.

He moves, well he used to move.
There were more than one - he had a "crew"

Maybe if more of the fans were armed, they'd have more of an incentive to win.

I'm always amazed when people fire guns straight up into the air with no thought as to what happens when those bullets come down again.

I think the reason they wore those 'civil defense' helmets was more to protect themselves from the flak coming back to earth than the bomb damage.

I never knew his name - Letter from Iraq
 

November 11, 2005, 8:22 a.m.
I Never Knew His Name
The true face of Muslim martyrdom.

By Chaplain Carlos C. Huerta
MOSUL, IRAQ — It is October 11 as I write this, the day before Yom Kippur. The Day of Atonement is supposed to be a day of fast, reflection, and prayer for the Jews: a time when I reflect on my own actions and intentions from the previous year. But the images I carry into my fast are sad ones, of someone else’s child, a Muslim child. There is blood spattered on my uniform despite the fact that I haven’t been hit or wounded. And yet it is B-positive blood, my own blood, mixed with the blood of a nine-year old Iraqi boy who was observing his fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Today there was a terrorist attack at a place most people have never heard of. Unless you’re a soldier stationed here, the name Tal Afar would probably be insignificant to you. But Tal Afar means a lot to me.

Today some terrorists decided to kill some Iraqi citizens — good Muslims — in order to discourage them from voting on Saturday on the new constitution. These terrorists called themselves Muslims and claimed that what they did was for Allah. But their connection to Islam is about as true and strong as Timothy McVeigh’s connection to Christianity. What they did is so contrary to the holy teachings of the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) that to say their name in the same breath as Islam is considered sacrilege.
I was at the Combat Support Hospital — known as CASH — when the call came: Terrorists had hit, no American casualties, but 22 Iraqis wounded, five of whom were children under the age of twelve. I stood on the tarmac watching as the MEDEVAC choppers came in one at a time to deliver the wounded. Many of the wounded had no legs, or deep chest, head, and abdominal wounds. I noticed the children, two in particular who had severe head trauma. I followed them into the ER and then watched our physicians struggle in the OR to stabilize them. After the physicians did what they could, the children were taken to the ICU. I helped carry their stretchers into the ICU and stood by to see if I could help. I had a serious conversation with G-d and pleaded with him to take care of these kids — kids who should be playing soccer, or doing their homework for school the next day, or helping their parents get ready for supper. Both of these children had skulls so badly shattered that their heads needed to be bandaged to keep their brains in. I watched as the nurses and medics gave them pint after pint of blood and as their head bandages turned from white to red. I held the youngest one’s hands, reassuring him to the extent I could.

As they were giving the youngest his third pint of blood, I heard the nurse say that they were running low on O Positive, the universal donor, and that due to the tremendous internal bleeding, this child would need more. I asked what blood type he was, and it turned out both children were B Positive, my own blood type. I went to the head nurse and asked if I could donate blood for the youngest child and they quickly hooked me up and took a pint. After giving it, I went back to see him; he already my blood hooked up to him and surging in his veins.
I held his tiny hand and watched as the monitors told the story: His heart was in trouble owing to the brain trauma. I watched as he fought for his life, fighting to breathe. But I knew he was dying and there was nothing I could do. This innocent Muslim child, who had been observing Ramadan the way a child does, was now dying despite the fact that my blood was moving though his veins, despite the fact that I pleaded with G-d to do what I thought was right, to keep him alive. But G-d had other plans.
I didn’t want this boy to die hearing the strange sounds of a hospital and a foreign language. I wanted him to be comforted by the last sounds he heard, by words that were close to his heart, words that spoke of home and faith. I started to recite the Holy Koran to him.
My close friend, a fellow clergyman, Imam Burgos, the imam for the United States Military Academy, had helped me learn Surahs of the Holy Koran, and I chanted these out to the boy in Arabic. As I chanted, I heard the monitor go flat-line. I held his little hand, as my blood moved through his tiny pure heart that could no longer bear the evil of this world.

I held his hand and cried — cried for a boy whose name I didn’t know, for an innocent Muslim child who gave his life for his G-d, Allah, for his country. He was the true face of Muslim martyrdom. With tears streaming down my face, I looked down and noticed blood on my uniform. His blood, my blood, our blood had dripped from his open head wound onto my uniform.
An hour or so later I walked away into the waiting area as they prepared his body for transport. There I met Chaplain Mark Greschel, a Catholic priest. He looked at me and knew that I was in trouble. He sat with me, somehow knowing that the pain we felt was best not mixed with words. He quietly put his arms around me, and we both sat there in silence. I thought to myself, isn’t this the kind of world we are fighting for — a world where an Imam teaches a Rabbi words from the Holy Koran to comfort a young Muslim boy, and that rabbi himself is comforted by a Christian, a Catholic priest.
On this day before Yom Kippur, the Jewish Fast Day, the Day of Atonement, I ask myself: What is Ramadan all about? Is it about killing, or is it about seeking out G-d through fasting and prayer? For those of us who choose not to carry hatred and prejudice in our hearts, the answer is simple. For the holy Islamic community, Ramadan is a time of introspection, of hope, of belief that if we all work together, we can truly build a better world for all our children, even those whose names we don’t know. There is so much that we can learn about faith and G-d through other religions; there is so much that our Muslim brothers and sisters can teach us about our Creator, about personal sacrifice and selfless service. But if we consider their faith only with mistrust, hatred, and indifference, then this nine-year-old angel with his faith in G-d means nothing. Then we have diminished our own faith in G-d. If we objectify the Muslim people as well as those who don’t share our exact views on the nature of G-d, if we see them as less than our brothers and sisters, then we as a human race are lost.

There are many Americans who ask why we’re here. Why are we sacrificing so many American lives and placing so many in harm’s way? What is the purpose of it all? Well, I don’t really know the big picture. But from my small sector of the battlefield, the reason I am here is to give “the least of these,” my children over here, a shot at “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” — just like my other children living in America.
I didn’t give birth to him, but on this fast day in Ramadan, on this day before Yom Kippur, I lost a son, someone who had my blood coursing through his body. And for him, I choose not to hate, I choose to follow the path that the great Sheik Ibn Arabi followed when he said, “Love is my Faith and my religion and wherever its caravans take me, that is where I shall follow, for love is my religion and faith.” Let us join hands with our Muslim brothers and sisters and let this be the message of Ramadan that we carry in our hearts and take with us. G-d has a new Muslim angel in Paradise. I hope to tell you his name one day when I meet him again.

And how about the hundreds of people that knew who "rocket man' was and what he was doing.... can they "say their name in the same breath as Islam"?

I have no idea - I don't get any answers - All I get are his emails - I don't think he gets mine or at best they are censored - now that I think about it - I don't think he has directly answered of the questions I ask.

That's OK, man. We know you're just sharing news from the front and it's much appreciated. Thank you.

Your welcome, But you really got me thinking now - In fact, I'm rereading the emails I sent him and his responses to see if he directly answered any of my questions. Now I'm also pondering #40 for an answer. . .

well at least I'm multitasking :shrug

Ah, but #40 was directed at Usup.

Everyone has free will.... That doesn't make it right.

Life in my little neighborhood Mon, 30 Jul 2007 16:54:51
 

Subject: Life in my little neighborhood

Well since you have asked me "What is it like in your neighborhood". I have put in a couple of picture of "CDR Ray's little world". I am sure everybody had a nice quite Saturday night, here I am ready to spend an exciting Saturday night in the hooch after a 14 hour day. Big event was to get the laundry done and relax. Sunday is a half day for me I go in around 12:00 noon and stay till 9:00 pm getting all the weekly reports updated and sent out to. Now behind the hooch we have one of our many community "bunkers". Spent a lot of time in their when the rockets/mortars where coming early in the morning or very late at night. It is one heck of a way to meet your neighbors up close and personal! You always got to get some kind of shoe on when you go in for scorpions have been known to be in the bottom of these bunkers because of the desert heat. You definitely look before you leap, (if you have the time)!

Now most of you have nice fences in your backyards to keep your pets in, well not me! Right in front of me is the "T-wall" fence to keep the neighbors from across the river out! We even have a guard! Now I know most of you do not have that! You just got to hope that the guy up there does not fall asleep or else you could be in for a interesting time if the "neighbors" from across the river decide to swim over and visit you and the guard is asleep! I live right on the front line.

Sunday the Iraqi soccer team won its game against Saudi Arabia and of course all of the fans were out in the city shooting off their weapons. We were able to shut down traffic and issued and enforced a no vehicle movement policy in the city to try and stop the VBIED's/ truck bombers from getting in and doing what they did last time. It seemed to work for we had no reports of a VBIED's going off. The bad news is that 7 Iraqi's got killed by the celebratory fire in the streets of Baghdad.

Here in the command, the word was put out that all members were to get inside before the end of the match and wait until the "all clear" was sounded before leaving the building. We knew that all of that "celebratory fire" was going to becoming our way and it did. Well, it looks like we had a Navy Captain who decided he wanted to go out early and head back to his hooch. Dumb..Dumb..Dumb. He took an AK-47 round to the head. He did not die, but that sure was dumb!

You have at least one more month of summer - so get out and enjoy, use the sunscreen, be careful around the grill, don't drink too much and by all means stay cool.

CDR "Downtown Baghdad" USN

Happiness is more sand bags around your hooch!!
 

Well we had a bit of a drop in rocket/mortar attacks early in the week.
It looks like there are more to come in the next few weeks, got to get
ready. I got some work done to reinforce the hooch with more sandbags.
We can not dig in so we have to build up. Most people in America come
over to the neighbors in the summer time for a cook out and a few cold
ones in the evening. I got more sand bags built up around my hooch and
more to come! So if you got nothing to do tonight bring over a few
sandbags we will put them on the wall and have a cold soda!

"USN Sandbox Sailor, Baghdad"

Sunday morning in Baghdad
 

Date: Sun, 2 Sep 2007 10:59:27
Subject: Sunday morning in Baghdad


It has been a bit drawn out here the last 3 days. Have not had any
mortar or rocket attack into the IZ but there still is a lot of
operations going on outside the wire into the "red zone" which is
causing a lot of helo operations at night which means about 3-4 hours of sleep each night. The hooch has really been rocking each night, (all of the helo's flying over at tree top level going out bound), you have to get rest when you can living in a war zone! Some day I will get home, crawl into my own bed, under my nice sheets, go to sleep for 10-12 hours with no body armor or helmet next to me and NOT having to worry about rockets, mortar or helo's. Sleep till I can sleep not more and than get up and start the day, at what ever time that is!
Today I had to go to a engineering meeting, I am now on the Iraqi
Railroad Reconstruction Project!, I got up, put on my 50 pounds of body armor and helmet walked outside and it was about 90-95 and it felt alright. Walked/hiked a mile or 2 to the meeting, meet up with the Group Captain from the Australian Air Force who requested that I be a "vital" member of the group.

On the Beat in Baghdad 4 Sep 2007
 

Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2007 11:29:06 +0400
Subject: Back in the War...got to keep running...duck and cover

Well it was good to hear from you, sounds like you are
wrapping up the summer and catch up on your rest. If you got time go ahead and get some "sleep time" for me. It is still hot as usually here in Baghdad, but have not had a sand storm in a couple of days so that is good. Last night I got off work @ 9:30 pm and was heading back to the hooch to relax and get some rest, as I walking/hiking back all of a sudden... Whisssh.. POW! Two of those Chinese 122 mm rockets, ( the bigens!) came in towards the IZ here and landed right outside the wall..I was out in the open so I ran off to the nearest "Duck and Cover Bunker" and jumped in. They were a bit to closes for me. I walk by the walls back to the hooch at night. Now do you lookout for Chinese rockets when you take your beach walks at night?

I stood/squatted in the bunker for about 30 minutes till the "all clear"
was sounded then I headed out again. It was like being in a little over
for the bunkers absorb the heat all day and then give it off at night.
There is no air flow in these bunkers so you sweat a lot and just got to wait till it is all clear and than go on with what you are doing. I got
back to the hooch and my hooch mate was sitting down in a chair
drinking a nice really cold Coke. " Hey Mate did you miss the
fireworks?" "The Laundry hooch was pretty much open so I went off to load the washing machine up with my uniforms, got to take advantage of the time" as he said to me. Well at least he did not drink the last cold bottle of water so that was OK!
You got to remember this is Iraqi "It's all good"

Take care,

CDR USN
"On the Beat in Baghdad"

Moving Freight in Iraq
 

Date: Wed, 12 Sep 2007 13:17:21 +0400
Subject: Working in Baghdad...".it is all good

Well the General Peteraus hearings were shown all night here in Baghdad. I watched it for a while but we all knew what he was going to say for after all we gathered up all the information for him. I knew what Senator Joe Biden was going to ask and what he was going to say,(and the Congress) for he told me that when I had dinner with him last week. Joe did what he said he was going to do! Senator Biden and Senator Blache Linclon, from Arkansas, were here last week and I got invited to have dinner with them. We all had dinner in a room in the embassy with about a dozen embassy staffers. Biden and Lincoln ,(mostly Biden) was asking a lot about the reconstruction of Iraq and the Central Government structure. Biden was not buying the embassy spin on what was going on. He keep asking more and more questions and getting a bit hostile to some. It was a nice show to watch! Joe doesn't "chew your ass" he just nibbles at you and lets you know he knows what's going on! Well watching the hearings with General Peteraus and Senator Biden and the Congress was like watching a chess game, but I knew all of the moves before they
happened.

Well I have been reassigned over to the Economic Development section. I will basically be pushing/running government projects and programs for the GOI, (Government of Iraq) through their ministries. I know I have the railroad, ports and airports to get going and I will get more. I have been working on the rail road, (Iraqi Rail Road, IRR) for the last 2 months. The major projects that are now underway, Improvement on the transponders tracking of locomotives, continuing the building of a microwave traffic control system for rail, ( got the bandwidth widened so that it can carry more information in the future and possible support to other commerce), removing the excess sea vans in the port of Umm Qasr and from Baghdad, ( at one time had monthly detention over $500,000 per month!), just signed a $5 million dollar contract to refit the locomotive overhaul repair shop in Baghdad to be done by march 08, getting equipment evaluation on @ 10 locomotives made in China and @ 15 Russian made locomotive,(I know I will have a part list to go and look for, I'm sure that since they were on the open world market @ 15-20 years ago some how I get the feeling AMTRAK has some parts for these
locomotives), modifying a couple bridges from double track to now handle road freight along with rail, starting the process for getting 1
facility for making cement ties, (called sleepers here in Iraq) to make
over 1 million ties per year. These are just a few of the Railroad
projects I am dealing with. I have not even mentioned the airports. Oh well "it is all good" for this is Iraqi. The average rail security
person here in Iraqi has spent 10.5 years on the railroad. Some of these people go out and walk the track looking for IED, (Improvised Explosive Devices) on the rail. Switcher locomotives are run in front of some of the freight trains to screen for IED and on some of these switchers guys ride on the outside of the locomotive to be look outs also!

I had lunch with the director general, (DG) of the IRR. This man has
been working for the IRR since 1970 and has held every job on the
tracks, repair shops and engines. He was attacked in 2003 by the
insurgents; they broke one of his legs and shot him in his other knee
cap for working with Coalition Forces. In Jan 2007 he was kidnapped
again for 20 days and held for ransom and than was released. This guys wants to get the rail road up and running for the Iraqi people. He was offered the job of Minister of Transportation but turned it down, he does not like politics. He has a lot of "creative" ways of running
trains and they work. They would never pass with the FRA or DOT, but than again "this is Iraq and it is all good!"

Hope things are going well for all.

CDR USN
"Moving Freight in Iraq"

On the move in Iraq..Kilroy was here....
 

Sent: Tue, 2 Oct 2007 2:50 am
Subject: On the move in Iraq...

Well I spent the last 3 weeks working with the Iraqi Government getting together a major package of money, @ 30-40 million US dollars, for the province of Babil. This is part of a reconciliation process so that the local governments in each province, (there are 18 of them here in Iraq) will be rewarded with more money to spend on improvements in the province for they cooperated and worked with the central Government of Iraq, (GoI). I had to work out all the logistics to move the Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih and a couple of the GoI ministries down to our Regional Embassy Office, (REO) in the city of Hillah Iraq so that they can land safe and security. The loading zone is extremely small and can only take 2 helos on the ground at a time. I had to have 6 helos come down in 3 flights, (2 per flight). I had to go out and borrow the personnel helo from Genral Petraus, (4 star) and the personnel helo from ambassador Crocker so that I could haul the VIP's & General Rollo, (3 star from the English Army) and the other Iraqi's. I also had to make sure that those 2 helos were not delayed for General Petraus had plans for them. Now that was an interesting event. I, (along one state department guy and another Navy Officer) spent 2 weeks getting all the logistic details set up and got the security part going so that it could be taken care of. The absolute hardest part was dealing with the Iraqi's. We would get name from then and than assign them certain seats on specific helos on specific flight going in and out of the Hillah air strip. They were like 9 year olds. "I can't sit with him on that helo for he did not come to my meeting last month", "I can't sit with him for he did not vote for me" and of course we had to take the Deputy Prime Ministries personnel chief so he could eat. The Deputy Prime Ministry did not want to eat the food at the event, but the others would, it was a mess!
We got them all to the helos and we pretty much "herded them" into the helos and got them down there and back. Nobody died and nobody was wounded or injured so it was a good thing. I'm sure some were upset because they could not be where they wanted to be, but that was to bad.
I also had to be aware of what was going across the river, (picture
included), for the insurgent would come up in the groves on the wire and shoot at you and at some of the helos coming in, or else drop rockets and mortar in to let you know they are there and watching. It made for a very interesting and exciting time down in Hillah. We even had a New York Times reporter with us and he wrote an article about the event and it was in the paper on 1 Oct. He did not mention any of us in the military as helping him and putting things together for him. We were to remain invisible, so he did not mention us in the article. You see, some good things do go unnoticed!
Well, in a war in Iraq conducting a lot of VIP movement and getting it
done with nobody killed wounded or injured is an event in itself. Then again, "this is Iraq so.....it is all good"

So how is life going along there?

CDR USN
"Playing in the Sand"

On the road again in Iraq
 

Sun, 11 Nov 2007 12:19 pm
Subject: Another busy day in Iraq...heading South

Well I was out all day yesterday and headed down south to Dhi-Qar to run a forum with the GOI, (Government of Iraq) and the Province of Dhi-Qar, (Southern Iraq) We had a lot of VIP's Amb Crocker from the US and the Amb's from Italy, Australia and Japan so security was unreal and of course we all got drawn into it. They had a bunch of kids waiting for the Vice President of Iraq and the Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq, they sang songs and handed out flowers, there was
also a marching band. It was quite a show. We arrived on time but the Iraqi showed 1½ hrs late for their own meeting. A couple of pictures for you to look at. It was a long day! Hope you enjoyed your trip to Italy. Now if you come here to Iraq and get on one of those flights that I do with the Italian Ambassador, will that count as time on a Italian vacation? I know it is just not the same climbing into a helo with @ 60 pounds of armor and "stuff" to be packed in and of course you have to deal with sand that come from the rotor wash. Well this is Iraq "It is all good".


CDR USN
"On the road again in Iraq"

Another day in Iraq
 

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 10:12 am

Well you soon get used to doing a lot of different things and they just
don't seem to bother all that much, because this is Iraq. My latest
adventure is just "another day in Iraq". We have been working with the
Iraqis on setting up a forum for the development and revitalization of
Baghdad. Well we got the Prime Minister, the 2 vice presidents, the
Deputy Prime minister and a lot of the Council of Representatives to
come and of course US ambassador Crocker and 7 other ambassadors along
with several of the US 2 stars and above. We also had international
press coverage coming in. A full blown Iraqi circus!

Yesterday I was over at the convention hall where the event was to be
held. I had to go over and make sure the Iraqi were doing what they
promised, along with a security detachment to secure the building for
the forum. Well the Iraqi wanted to show a 20 minute movie on the past
and future of Baghdad. They could not figure out how to work their lap
top and projector system, and of course, with our help we got it going
for them. Well the movie had a lot of very graphic war scenes of when
the US forces rolled into Baghdad and did what they had to do. It was
pretty graphic! I basically stole/borrowed the video from the Iraqis,
made copies and informed my boss. Well our 3 star generals and
Ambassador Crocker were not very happy at all with what was going to be
shown. Top people here in the embassy called over to the Iraqis and
told them they had to make changes. We, (US and Coalitions Forces) were
referred to at as "Mongrels" in the Iraqi video. Not a good thing!

The Iraqis promised to make changes so that they could show the video at
the forum in front of the international press. I had to go over and get
the video the next morning, screen it and report on it. I was heading
out today in the morning to get the forum and I was delayed for a patrol
in the area was ambushed by a IED, (Improvised Explosive Devise) and a
Lieutenant was killed and several wounded. They were 200 yards from the
checkpoint that flowed traffic into the facility where the forum was to
be held.

When I got there I had to guard the Iraqi Laptops from the Iraqis so
they could not slip in the old video in which they show the graphic war
scenes and calls us "Mongrels". Of course it is Iraqi so they are all
late! I manage to get the CD with the movie on, ( a whole another
story), and take it and run it in the Laptop and it was "cleaned". While
I was sitting on the floor in the corner watching this so no one else
could see it. Two soldiers' come by carrying their fully loaded out
M16-A4 machine guns, which is NOT allowed in the building, I asked them
what was going on. Well it seems a know terrorist had gotten through the
security, (or let through by some Iraqis) and was in the complex. They
had a picture of him and his name and what he had done in Iraq. He was a
really BAD person! They were conducting a huge manhunt, the Iraqis
stated to show up for the forum and it was becoming a real mess trying
to herd them to a area so the manhunt can continue. The Iraqis went
ahead and started the forum anyway and it went off and no one else was
killed or hurt. The day is over and I think I will call it a early day
and go back to my hooch and hit my rack!

How is your day going in America?


CDR USN
"On the Edge in Baghdad"

Sent: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 5:20 am
Subject: Creative Rail Road work here in Iraq

We had people out flying the rails on the IRR, (Iraqi Railroad) and it
looks like we came across some creative Iraqi workers. It seems some
locals decided to dig a canal of their own so that they can get water
from one side of the track to the other. Now of course they do not have
permission, but that should not be a surprise, nor stop anyone, for this
is Iraq! Well as you look at the pipelines that run parallel to the
tracks they carry oil to and from Northern Iraq.

If you look down into the trench/canal it looks like they are dragging a
pipeline along inside the trench. I believe that they are getting ready
to tap into the oil pipeline and than bury their line into the
trench/canal. Now you got to give some credit to them for these people
are willing to go out in the middle of the desert and "tap in".

CDR USN
"International Railroad Consultant"

Picture attached from Previous Post
 

.

Wow. That one belongs in wtf.

Indeed.

I'd hate to be in the next train to run over that.

I'd also hate to be attempting nation-building amongst people who either don't have a clue or don't give a damn. Didn't these people loot their own hospitals?

Good luck at the job - it is clear from these posts that some Iraqis both have a clue and give a damn - just not terribly many.

Speaking of nation building, a guy my dad works with who was recently sent over to Iraq to help rebuild certain aspects of their infrastructure has sent out an email update. Here you go, name withheld for privacy:



Dear family and friends:

With a little over four months under my belt now, I am beginning to feel at ease with the surroundings and the routine of work and daily life here, which, when we are not working, is mostly filled with sleep, exercise, trying not to eat too much chow in the dining facility, and waiting for helicopters. Lest anyone thinks the two hour advance arrivals at the airport in the States are unknown in a combat zone, forget it. Reservations for a seat on a flight must be made exactly four days in advance and you must check in at the air facility 2 hours before your departure time. The only positive is no TSA checkpoints, since everyone here is already armed. Most flights out of my camp and back to it are done at night, so this usually means sitting around a dusty plywood hut for two hours or more until around midnight, when the flight arrives and the wind from the rotors buffets the thin plywood walls. A Marine with a roster and a fluorescent blue chemlight ushers the passengers outside and we follow in single file to the landing zone, clad in our flak jackets and helmets, and lugging backpacks and rucksacks through the hot rotor wash, blowing sand, and gravel. Once aboard, bathed in dim green light, we sit knee to knee inside the rumbling fuselage, smelling exhaust fumes wafting through the narrow compartment. The waiting can last a few minutes, or if you are unlucky, there is a lengthy delay as the aircrews and ground crews work to load or unload cargo (sound familiar), which can take longer than you would think since it is being done in the dark, with a military forklift, while the helicopters are running. The last time I flew, when we departed a remote airbase, the helo fired off a solitary red flare, probably as a precaution, that was intended to distract man portable surface to air missiles. I don’t know if there was a legitimate threat below trying to shoot us down, but when you are sitting near the rear of the aircraft, as I was, peering out into the blackness beyond the edge of the ramp, and you hear a loud pop, followed by burst of red light, it certainly gets your attention for a second.

Since my first update, I have ridden on nearly a dozen helicopters and visited several cities, military bases/camps, and Joint Security Stations (police precincts) in Al Anbar Province. My focus has been on reconstruction and engineering, but our Marine Corps mission is focused on what is termed “Transition”, which, for the military, is the training, advising, and equipping of the Iraqi Security Forces, their Army, Police, and to a lesser extent, their newly formed Highway Patrol. Transition, though, is more than just training a military and a police force; it consists of several pillars or elements that must be interconnected and interdependent to fully function as one. These elements are: Rule of Law, Security, Communication, Governance, and Economics. In order to get all of these elements of Transition to work is a complicated, sometimes rewarding, and frequently frustrating process, involving military civil affairs teams, US State Department Provincial Reconstruction Teams, US Agency for International Development, law enforcement advisors, and instructors on judicial process and municipal management. The overall goal of Transition is to move the Iraqis to a point where they have become relatively self -sufficient and reasonably capable of providing security, stability, and the broad array of basic services at the local, regional, and national levels. There will be differing and uneven progress in all these areas, imperfect solutions at best, but if we and the Iraqis can build on the trust that has been established so far, their formal government institutions and their age old tribal organizations will find a way to work together and function for the betterment of their leaders and their constituents.

For the Marines, the Security element of Transition, especially the training and advising piece, can be somewhat counter intuitive for the American military mind. Our traditions and our ethos are steeped in the institutional practice of empowering young leaders and solving problems at the lowest levels. Our ranks are replete with Type A, problem solvers and aggressive, smart young enlisted who want to “fix” and change things, in this case the Iraqis and their seemingly bad habits. But the Iraqis do not adhere or subscribe to a Western military mindset. Arab militaries, for the most part, do not have any tradition of expecting their Corporals and Sergeants to make decisions; that is left to the Captains and Majors. However, the Iraqi soldier, or “jundi” is desirous of a challenge, eager to learn and show he is competent and capable, and their officers are, for the most part, quite seasoned. We Americans often look at their Army and Police with a very critical eye and see their shortcomings compared to our capabilities as deficiencies we must address and indeed correct before we can depart and deem our mission a success. But our trainers and advisors must fight this urge to try and remake the Iraqis in our image, for the longer we persist with this line of thinking, the more the Iraqis will lean on us and expect more from us. Lest we forget the lessons of history:

“It is better to let them do it themselves imperfectly, than do it yourself perfectly. It is their country…:

- T.E. Lawrence

We are, as one departing Colonel told me, “advisors, not providers” and the sooner we embrace that philosophy, the sooner the Iraqis will begin to solve their problems in their own time and in their own way. They are already doing this in many areas, we are simply here to ensure they make progress, but over time, that progress will have to be defined more by them, and less by us.

For those of you wondering where and when this relationship ends, it won’t, at least for another twenty years, perhaps much longer. We have made a long-term moral, financial, and military commitment to the Iraqis and we are not going to renege on that commitment, regardless of the political rhetoric in Washington DC or on the campaign trail. Just turn on the news and see President Bush confirming a partnership agreement with the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Our degree of involvement and numbers of troops will decline in the years ahead, but it is obvious to me that we will have troops working alongside the Iraqis, just as we have the South Koreans and the Germans, for at least another generation. By that time, it is my hope that the young barefooted Iraqi boys, who passed me by the other day, pushing carts to Fallujah, will have had an opportunity to go to school, find an honorable way to earn a living, and raise their families in peace. The Marine Corps has sent me all over the world, and that is one thing I have seen in Asia, Europe and Africa – the desire to live, love and be left in peace is universal.

Semper Fidelis

An outstanding letter and a testament to many, many Military Personnel in Iraq who are really trying to help the Iraqis, and make the best of a very tough situation. They know more then anyone that it doesn't matter what put them there, they are and must do the best that they can.

During my deployment in Iraq I grew very discouraged at about the 7 month point. I grumbled for about a week, something like "what the fuck am I doing here???" . For various and sundry reasons. While pulling security on a roof top, one of the men in the building brought me down to see his father. The old man kissed both my cheeks and hugged me. They served us chai and ice water. The old man talked about the war with Iran. The younger man, slipped me a note that read "Please save us from the killerers. Thank you!" I carried that note until the day I left.

Please pass on to your friend that I for one am grateful for his service. Thank you!

Joe.

great addition bullitt, thanks. you might want to delete his job title and unit though if anonymity is desireable.