Life is Good: July 2007

My dad is now in Iraq. He is stationed at Camp Taji and training soldiers in Special Forces. Attached is his letter and pictures.

O-Gram #1

Independence Day 2007

Happy 4th of July greetings from Camp Taji, Iraq! As most of you know I was deployed to Iraq this summer after being recalled to the Army in February this year. For some of you this will be old news; bear with me as I catch everyone up. I plan to do a monthly update of what I’ve been up to so you will have an understanding of life in Iraq.

I’m very busy now. A typical day starts at around 5:30 or 6:00 when I get up to run. Any later and it’s too hot! After a shower I’m off to breakfast at 8:00, and at the “office” at 9:00 AM. At noon we break for lunch and things pick up again at 1:00. At 5:00 PM I run a daily staff meeting that lasts 45 minutes or so. Dinner’s at 6:00 or so and we are back in the office at 7:00 PM. Usually we leave about 8:30 or 9:00 PM to go back to our rooms. As you can see, I don’t have much free time and they keep me hopping! This is when we don’t have a class. When we have a class it is much more confused!

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After I was recalled I was assigned to Special Forces 1st Training Group at Ft. Bragg NC. I spent three weeks there in April getting up to speed. I did a parachute jump from a Spanish aircraft called a CASA 212. All my training was focused on getting ready to deploy to Iraq. I took a Physical Training (PT) test, hearing test, eye tests etc. as all were needed for deployment.

On May 26th I reported into the Ft. Benning GA CONUS Replacement Center (CRC). At the CRC we spent 7 days getting processed for overseas replacement. There were about 270 persons in my group; only 25% were military. The rest were varios types of civilians: contractors, Department of Defense Civilians, Department of the Army Civilians, Army Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES – PX), border guards, etc. We were very surprised to see all the civilians there. Lots of women of all ages were present from 19 years old up to one lady who was 60 years old!

We had to do classes on the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ, Law of Land Warfare, Iraqi Culture, etc. Medical screening was a big day for everyone. I got 9 immunizations from flu to small pox, all at the same time. Yuck!

We all had to qualify with our weapons. Since I was carrying two weapons (an M16 rifle and an M9 9mm pistol) I had to qualify with both. Since I’m here I guess I passed!

Other training we received covered Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), weapons training, sexual harassment, and first aid.

We were issued a lot of equipment. Too much! The Army has a program called Rapid Fielding Initiative (RFI) which they gave us new high speed boots, glasses, helmets, knee pads, elbow pads, gloves etc. All of it is very good and I was glad to get it. Money well spent.

We also got issue equipment from Central Issue Facility (CIF). They gave us way too muck stuff so I sent most of it home for storage. When I get back I will turn the gear in unused.

Departure day was Friday 1 June. Due to security they would not give us an exact time; we mustered at 4:00 PM. The first thing they did was weighed our bags. Military persons were allowed four duffel bags and a carry-on. It was hard to get everything into 4 bags. I had bought a civilian duffel bag for my personal gear so I had it and three military duffels. Each bag was limited to 70 pounds. I was fine until they weighed my civilian duffel bag. It hit the scale at 90 pounds and the Sergeant Major told me to repack it. The problem was I had no space left in my other three duffel bags. I went to the troop store and bought another duffel bag and they let me take five bags. While it solved the problem at Ft. Benning, I now had 5 bags to drag around Kuwait & Iraq. No baggage carts where we were going!

The Army has built a nice airport terminal at Ft. Benning (Larson Field). As it turned out, our flight left at midnight so we were fed a hot meal and waited. And waited. Only Nextel cell phones would work in the terminal. I will let Cingular know that lots of folks were not please with their service!

We flew from Ft Benning to Shannon Ireland where we had a couple of hours to lay over. The plane was a civilian contracted DC10 that was packed to the max. No beer or wine, just sodas. Most everyone got off the plane to stretch their legs. We left our weapons on the plane. Seemed strange being on a plane where everyone was armed to the max!

We then flew on to Kuwait City where we landed at about midnight Saturday 2 June. The plane was off loaded and we were taken to an area to wait until 2:00 AM before busses took us to the Air Force base called Ali Al Saleem which was about an hour’s drive away. I signed in at 3:30 AM June 3rd. A small group of us who were part of Multi-National Security Transition Command – Iraq (MNSTC-I, pronounced men-stick-key) gathered up our bags and headed to the air movement tent. There we waited until 6:30 AM for a roll call. At 7:00 AM they called the roll for the first flight to Baghdad which we didn’t make. At 9:00 they called the roll for the next flight and luckily we were on it. There were persons who had been waiting three days to get a flight to Baghdad but we had higher priority. Our flight left at 12:45 PM so again we had a bit of a wait.

I had my first experience with the mess hall at Ali Al Saleem. They are called “DFAC” for Dining FACility. It was quite a way away from the air movement terminal. When I got there they would not let me in as I had a backpack on. No backpacks, bags etc are allowed in the DFACs for security reasons. So I walked back to the Air Movement tent, dumped my back pack and walked back to the DFAC.

The food was really good. You could have as much as you wanted. Well prepared, lots of choices. Chocolate milk, ice cream, all the fixings and then some. It was better than any mess hall I have seen since I first joined the Army in 1971. The only problem is that they give you too much! One can get very fat here if you are not careful!

The flying time from Ali Al Saleem to Baghdad is about an hour and twenty minutes in a prop plane (C-130 Hercules). We landed around 2:00 PM Sunday 3 June at Baghdad International Airport (BIAP, called “By-op”) on Sunday 3 June. I checked in with the air movement desk and there was told to come back at 6:00 PM for a roll call. At 6:00 I was told that my flight to Taji was on.

The flight to Taji was on time; departure was set for 2:00 AM Monday 4 June. I moved my 5 bags to the “gate” area and went to sleep on my bags. The gate area was actually out side between two tents next to the airfield. There were 15 foot tall concrete barriers along the sides of the tents with a camo net strung between them. At 7:30 PM I was woken up by 4 loud explosions. BIAP had been attacked by 4 mortar rounds and one landed 100 meters from me on the airfield. I was well protected by the concrete barriers but still it was way too close. Everyone put on their body armor and helmet and 40 minutes later the all-clear signal sounded.

The flight to Camp Taji was un-eventful. I flew on a CH-47 helicopter. It seemed strange seeing an M249 machine gun on the back ramp of the helicopter locked & loaded when we took off. Guns are everywhere, loaded at the ready.

I got to Camp Taji at about 3:00 AM Monday June 4th. Went to my room and slept to about 11:00 and then went to work. We have a General visit us that evening so I didn’t get back to bed until 10:00 PM.

Taji is 15 miles north of Baghdad. It's an old Iraqi Republican Guard base. The base used to be call the Taji Military Complex. The Iraqi Army assembled T-72 tanks here and did lots of high level maintenance on all sorts of vehicles. The base is about 16 square miles in side.

The Coalition base is on the west side of the complex. It has an airfield and houses about a division plus of coalition troops, mostly US. There is a smaller compound towards the east, about 2 miles away where I am located and that is on the Iraqi side. The Iraqi Army has a number of its Army schools here.

It's actually safer on the Iraqi side as the insurgents leave us alone and focus on the US guys 2 miles away. In the last 3 years our compound has been hit three times by mortars. Two were duds, one exploded. All three hit sewer lines and made a mess!

The insurgents toss an occasional mortar round at the coalition side but we have active counter battery artillery that makes life hard for them. They don't have time to set up properly so they can't really aim their rounds. They fire from trucks and run. Not effective. Lately they are improving and they hit the airfield with three of six rockets, damaging 16 helicopters.
Can you say hot? 115+ degrees is the normal now and we have hit 120 degrees. It will get the hottest in August where the highs will be in the 140s. There is dust every where. You feel dirty all the time. The only time you feel clean is in or right after a shower. Walk outside and the dust just sticks to you. Ugh! We have had a few dust storms where the sky is very dark. All aircraft is grounded and it is not unusual to get stuck somewhere for 3 or 4 days waiting for a flight out. I’m looking forward to sitting in a bath tub and soaking for an hour when I get back!

I keep my hair short due to the dust & heat. It’s a high & tight cut but a bit longer on top. Lots of guys just shave their heads and forget about it. When you put your helmet on in 120-degree heat it will cook your brains. Add in the dust and you just don’t want to deal with it. I feel really sorry for the females here who have lots of problems with their hair.

Everyday is pretty much the same. We work seven days a week. Most get a half-day or more off on Sundays but Operations always has someone on duty from 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM, usually later. There’s just a lot going on. Days of the week get lost. Don’t ask what I’m doing on Friday; I won’t know. Ask what I’m doing on the 6th of July and I can tell you.

Saturdays are special. A Catholic Priest flies into to Taji to say Mass for us. If the helicopters don’t fly for any reason, we have to wait until the next week for a Mass. I go to the 10:00 AM Mass as I have to be at meetings at the other times. There are many Camps in Iraq that never see a chaplain or a priest so we are fortunate to have one on a regular basis. After Mass we head over to the DFAC on the Coalition side that is really good. They have diet Sprite!!!

Most of our staff gets plenty of down time. We send people out to Qatar for 4 day passes twice during their year here. I will go myself in a couple of months. Time passes faster when you have something to do. So we keep busy.

My room is very small, about 10x10 with a private toilet & shower. This is very rare in Iraq; most have to share a room or a tent. They are like small mobile homes and they are called “Chus” for Compact Housing Unit. Compact they are! I’m not complaining, I am grateful for what I have. It could be a lot worse!

I have a bed, a desk, a small refrigerator, and a wall locker to hold my stuff. The window is covered with a bulletin board that I have all my cards and letters on. No place else to put it so it stays where it is. My duffel bags are stored under my bunk. Martha Stewart would die here!

We have free laundry service. I drop my clothes off and the next day I pick them up. They do a reasonable job; it’s better than me having to do it.

Breakfast is from 6:300 to 8:30, Lunch is from 11:30 to 1:00 and dinner is from 5:30 to 7:00 PM. I walk 30 yards from the Headquarters (HQ) to the DFAC. The food is good but again they give you too much. The staff knows me now so they give me smaller portions.
We carry loaded weapons with us all the time. “Loaded” means that the magazine is in the weapon but we do not chamber a round. We only chamber a round we leave Camp Taji. Sleeping with a loaded 9mm is a change in perspective to say the least. We all keep our gear ready to go and I have extra ammo in loaded magazines just in case. I have a couple of frag grenades in my hooch (room) ready if needed. Given that we have never been directly attacked, it’s not likely that I will need them (I’m the third generation owner!) and will pass them on to my replacement. Why put the magazine in? Remember, a gun without bullets is just an expensive paperweight.We travel mostly by air to avoid the IED problems. We leave the camp mostly for admin reasons; when we go out with a unit, it is to gather lessons learned so that the next unit doesn't make the same mistake or to keep up with changes in a given area. Don't worry we are safe here. Generals fly in here all the time and if they feel safe, so do I. There is a lot of IED activity on the roads but we stay off of them.People ask me all the time what do I do. I work at the Counterinsurgency Center for Excellence, called COIN CFE. “COIN” is the latest buzzword that the Army has. It means “counterinsurgency”. It’s the methods that we are using to defeat the insurgents in Iraq.

We teach every Brigade Combat Team (BCT) that comes to Iraq. General Petraeus (the big guy!) will not let any unit move into battle space without coming to our school first. We give them five days of training and help prepare them with dealing with the Iraqi population.

We also assist the Iraqi COIN Center, which is right next to us.

As a new member of the COIN Center, I had to attend the entire course, learn a class and teach that class. This took most of June as I also have a full time job running the operations shop called “S3”. Learning a class was easy. Getting certified to teach isn’t. First you give the class to your mentor. When he thinks you are ready you then give it to the Committee. Once the Committee gives you a go, you then give the class to the “murder board” consisting of the top guys in the center. Once they say you are ready, then you get to teach. Most new instructors take a few times to get past all the boards. I was fortunate to make it past every board on the first attempt.

My class is on the Iraqi government and the Iraqi constitution. I love teaching it and I have done well thus far. Why do we teach this? We make sure that every commander understands how the Iraqi government works and that they do not violate Iraqi law.

In the coming months I will pick up another class, probably on Civilian Military Operations (CMO). CMO deals with all the rebuilding programs that the USA and the Coalition allies are offering to help rebuild Iraq.

I have the privilege of working with a group of Australian Special Forces soldiers. My assistant S3 and S3 Air are Aussies and are top-notch guys. We have a great time together.

Most people don’t understand what is going on in Iraq. For sure the media doesn’t report it. In spite of what the Democrats say, the surge is working. I see all the daily reports. We send teams out to all the areas in Iraq to see what’s going on and to update our course information. The last surge unit just got here and only last week was in their battle position. How can the surge be a failure when they just got here?

Last year the press said that the western region of Iraq was lost. Al Quida (AQI) was so confident that last year they proclaimed one of the western Iraqi cities would be their new Caliphate. Today it is clearly under control and is secure. The local Sheiks have come over to the coalition side and are active fighting against AQI and AQI has fled the province. This gets no press.

There are three main Iraqi groups. They are the Sheia, the Sunni, and the Kurds. The Kurds are doing just fine; there are 8 flights daily to Europe from Mosul. The fighting that you hear about is between Sheia and Sunni groups with AQI fighting all of them.

AQI is doing most of the violence against civilians and the Iraqis are getting sick of it. In the areas where we have daily presence, they give us tips so we can root out the bad guys. They want security. It would take me 30 pages to cover all the groups and the politics in Iraq but make no misstate about it: the surge is working and it would be a huge mistake to shut it down and withdraw. AQI is counting on the Democrats to do that for them. If we can continue on this course for another year, you will see a much different Iraq. I’m afraid that no matter what General Petraeus says to Congress on September 13, they will not listen. Politics.

I have attached a number of photos of Taji. There is no grass. Just dirt, sand, and gravel. Enjoy your lawns! I can't wait to lie down on one again.

Well, that covers my first month in Iraq. I plan on doing one of these each month assuming that I have the time. Take care and thank you for all your support and prayers. Feel free to write me and I will reply when I can.

God Bless you all!

Please pass this email on to those I missed!

Tony