I hate blogging, I don't like to press my opinions onto others, but for the sake of boredom I am going to blog about what everyone blogs about, the war in Iraq. I hate hearing about it as much as you do, maybe even more being in the middle of it. What you hear and what is actually going on are two totally different stories. I have a pretty open mind and I understand that death and violence will get peoples attention on the front page more so then the good things that go on over here, if you have any interest on insight from Iraq then read on, if not just stop right here.
First off let me tell you this, my opinions are not those of the United States government or any other third party, these are mine and mine alone. Second I am not a professional writer, a war analyst and further am not an expert about Iraq, its government or the situation over here. Third is my experience. I have spend 26 out of the last 38 months in Iraq, the 12 months in between were spent at Fort Carson where I am stationed at. I am a Satellite Communications operator in the US Army. So here goes.
The first tour over here I spent 12 months at a place called FOB War Horse at Baqubah. It was filled with fear, anticipation and curiosity. My job there was to maintain communications so that my brigade could communicate all across the battlefield. Besides that some of my other jobs were Guard Duty around the perimeter every so often and we had to patrol all over the place to transport personnel and or equipment on different bases within Iraq. So anywhere between three and five times a week we would run missions outside the wire, as corny as it sounds and I hate it there is really no better way to describe it. This in my mind became addicting, just getting out and seeing the way people live and what the country looked like fascinated me. This country, for the most part, is trash. People take no pride in where they live and use the whole city or village as a dumping ground for trash. There seems to be no order, people drive like maniacs, speeding, wrong side of the road, kids sitting on the roofs of the cars, 3 people on mopeds, the only time you see this back home is when people are tweaked out of their mind or drunk back home, our police forces back home would have their hands full if they came over here, they would be blown away. The poverty level is the next thing I should mention, the slums in America are paradise compared to how these people live. Kids run around all day either working or playing, schools? Who needs them, most young boys work to help support their family, and they dont have time for school it seemed like. They are not afraid or ashamed to beg over here either. They take it as an occupation, they will ask for anything as wild as it may sound. Mister chocolate, mister money, mister pens, mister your gun.it doesnt matter they will ask for it, it is cute as first, then it gets annoying really fast. We did not associate with the local populous that much the first time I was here, it was, do the mission and drive on. Being a middle class white boy from New Hampshire this all shocked me, I took a lot away from that first tour. I now realize, like my mother always said, how good I have it. I read somewhere the other day, now I dont know how accurate this is, that if you have $100 in the bank account you are richer then something like 99% of the world? I am fucking wealthy if that is the case, that fact is crazy if you ask me. Now when we returned from last tour I took life a little slower and tried to as much as possible enjoy the simple things in life, it is so hard to do, the American way and culture is a hard thing to avoid, conformity is so much simpler.
I am currently serving, and almost finished with my second tour in Iraq. This tour has been a lot more rewarding and educational for me. I got here this time on December 2nd of 2007 and absolutely hated everything about my life at the time. Left a girl who I had fallen head over heels first, almost knew without a doubt that it would not work, but still tried. Now knowing it would not work most likely you might be asking, why did I even try? I like to learn everything the hard way, that way there is a less chance I make the same mistake twice. This tour was suppose to be spent at a Camp Taji, pretty much a club med compared to most US bases here in Iraq. It has all the amenities, huge PX, (Basically a Wal-Mart for military personnel) , Burger King, Cinnamon, awesome Dining Facilities provided by KBR, and I cant forget to mention the two swimming pools, one indoor and one outdoors, it was a dream compared to last tour. Shortly after we arrived that dream was crushed by the needs of the Army. My platoon was tasked to occupy and run a small Combat Outpost (COP) called War Eagle. We would not only be in charge of communications there, but running Force Protection (COP Security) and many other tasks. Right away I could tell this would be a very different tour of duty, this COP was not only where we stayed but we would be living with members of the Iraqi Army as well. During the first tour we pretty much went by the guidelines, dont trust anyone not in an American uniform, so to live with these guys would prove to be different. I was put on gate guard almost instantly and was pissed off and disgruntled about the whole thing instantly, I just wanted the pool and burger king back, it was bullshit in my mind ha, forgetting for a moment where I was and how lucky I was to be getting a warm bed and 2 hot meals a day.
The best part about this whole tour was getting to interact with the local populous as much as I did. My first major interactions with them were at the Gate around 6 am. Everyday a group of kids from the villages surrounding the COP would come through the South gate and through the North gate on their way to school. At first I was uneasy about this, hearing about how kids have had bombs in their backpacks or strapped to them, crazy right, its true though. Then my small town goodness came out and I instantly warmed to them, they are children what harm could they do. They turned out to be the best part of my mornings and are just like the kids that run around our streets, innocent and full of life and have endless possibilities for when they grow up. The sad thing is, they dont have endless possibilities like we as Americans do. That is the biggest reason I believe we are still here, not to find weapons of mass destruction, but to help them, to improve their way of living, to give the Iraqi people hope. To help bring stability to their country, the major way we are doing that is to train their Army and Police forces to make this a safer place to live. People say they dont see a change, and that is because they are looking at the big picture. Say you are working on a 10,000 piece puzzle, you are about of the way done and a bomb goes off and ruins it, you have to start from scratch. That is frustrating and a pain in the ass, now think about how much of a project it is to rebuild an entire country. You must look at the little things I believe, those are the things that will matter the most. This country must learn to crawl before they can run, and we are teaching them to crawl. The results of this war will not be seen for many years, but when they are I hope that people finally realize why we were here.
There have been so many improvements I have seen in the 26 months that I have been here. Schools being built, parks and recreation centers for the kids, elections for government officials, security forces being trained so that one day soon they will be able to fly solo and not need us there to help. Which is exactly what is happening as you are reading this, we now run all missions in conjunction with Iraqi security forces, many we have no part in, they are doing it all by themselves. That is such huge progress you wouldnt understand. Just in our Operational environment our engineers have helped build a local pool, a local recreation center and canals for their water systems. We have provided endless missions patrolling the neighborhoods to ensure that senseless acts of violence dont interrupt with their everyday lives. There are markets and stores opening back up that have not been able to function due to violence since the beginning of the war. I am sure almost none of you have heard about that. I have gone on foot patrols to the local villages around the COP handing out school supplies, winter hats, candy and other things that every child should have access too. These things dont matter to the press; we have this image in some peoples mind as savages and blood thirsty, both are so wrong it makes me sick. I know there have been incidents where one might label the acts as savage, but that is an individuals actions, not our militarys.
A lot of people say even if you dont support the war, support the troops. In my opinion if you dont support what we are doing here you are not supporting the soldiers. I am so proud of what we have done over here. Despite all the adversity these people face they are positive and some of the most unselfish people I have met. As I am winding down my time over here, possibly my last tour ever, I am saddened to the fact that I can do no more to help these people. I have made some very good friends over here and will never forget their kindness or generosity. Dont get me wrong though I am thrilled to go home, I miss so many things I could not begin to list them, but I will carry back with me to many good, and bad, memories
First off let me tell you this, my opinions are not those of the United States government or any other third party, these are mine and mine alone. Second I am not a professional writer, a war analyst and further am not an expert about Iraq, its government or the situation over here. Third is my experience. I have spend 26 out of the last 38 months in Iraq, the 12 months in between were spent at Fort Carson where I am stationed at. I am a Satellite Communications operator in the US Army. So here goes.
The first tour over here I spent 12 months at a place called FOB War Horse at Baqubah. It was filled with fear, anticipation and curiosity. My job there was to maintain communications so that my brigade could communicate all across the battlefield. Besides that some of my other jobs were Guard Duty around the perimeter every so often and we had to patrol all over the place to transport personnel and or equipment on different bases within Iraq. So anywhere between three and five times a week we would run missions outside the wire, as corny as it sounds and I hate it there is really no better way to describe it. This in my mind became addicting, just getting out and seeing the way people live and what the country looked like fascinated me. This country, for the most part, is trash. People take no pride in where they live and use the whole city or village as a dumping ground for trash. There seems to be no order, people drive like maniacs, speeding, wrong side of the road, kids sitting on the roofs of the cars, 3 people on mopeds, the only time you see this back home is when people are tweaked out of their mind or drunk back home, our police forces back home would have their hands full if they came over here, they would be blown away. The poverty level is the next thing I should mention, the slums in America are paradise compared to how these people live. Kids run around all day either working or playing, schools? Who needs them, most young boys work to help support their family, and they dont have time for school it seemed like. They are not afraid or ashamed to beg over here either. They take it as an occupation, they will ask for anything as wild as it may sound. Mister chocolate, mister money, mister pens, mister your gun.it doesnt matter they will ask for it, it is cute as first, then it gets annoying really fast. We did not associate with the local populous that much the first time I was here, it was, do the mission and drive on. Being a middle class white boy from New Hampshire this all shocked me, I took a lot away from that first tour. I now realize, like my mother always said, how good I have it. I read somewhere the other day, now I dont know how accurate this is, that if you have $100 in the bank account you are richer then something like 99% of the world? I am fucking wealthy if that is the case, that fact is crazy if you ask me. Now when we returned from last tour I took life a little slower and tried to as much as possible enjoy the simple things in life, it is so hard to do, the American way and culture is a hard thing to avoid, conformity is so much simpler.
I am currently serving, and almost finished with my second tour in Iraq. This tour has been a lot more rewarding and educational for me. I got here this time on December 2nd of 2007 and absolutely hated everything about my life at the time. Left a girl who I had fallen head over heels first, almost knew without a doubt that it would not work, but still tried. Now knowing it would not work most likely you might be asking, why did I even try? I like to learn everything the hard way, that way there is a less chance I make the same mistake twice. This tour was suppose to be spent at a Camp Taji, pretty much a club med compared to most US bases here in Iraq. It has all the amenities, huge PX, (Basically a Wal-Mart for military personnel) , Burger King, Cinnamon, awesome Dining Facilities provided by KBR, and I cant forget to mention the two swimming pools, one indoor and one outdoors, it was a dream compared to last tour. Shortly after we arrived that dream was crushed by the needs of the Army. My platoon was tasked to occupy and run a small Combat Outpost (COP) called War Eagle. We would not only be in charge of communications there, but running Force Protection (COP Security) and many other tasks. Right away I could tell this would be a very different tour of duty, this COP was not only where we stayed but we would be living with members of the Iraqi Army as well. During the first tour we pretty much went by the guidelines, dont trust anyone not in an American uniform, so to live with these guys would prove to be different. I was put on gate guard almost instantly and was pissed off and disgruntled about the whole thing instantly, I just wanted the pool and burger king back, it was bullshit in my mind ha, forgetting for a moment where I was and how lucky I was to be getting a warm bed and 2 hot meals a day.
The best part about this whole tour was getting to interact with the local populous as much as I did. My first major interactions with them were at the Gate around 6 am. Everyday a group of kids from the villages surrounding the COP would come through the South gate and through the North gate on their way to school. At first I was uneasy about this, hearing about how kids have had bombs in their backpacks or strapped to them, crazy right, its true though. Then my small town goodness came out and I instantly warmed to them, they are children what harm could they do. They turned out to be the best part of my mornings and are just like the kids that run around our streets, innocent and full of life and have endless possibilities for when they grow up. The sad thing is, they dont have endless possibilities like we as Americans do. That is the biggest reason I believe we are still here, not to find weapons of mass destruction, but to help them, to improve their way of living, to give the Iraqi people hope. To help bring stability to their country, the major way we are doing that is to train their Army and Police forces to make this a safer place to live. People say they dont see a change, and that is because they are looking at the big picture. Say you are working on a 10,000 piece puzzle, you are about of the way done and a bomb goes off and ruins it, you have to start from scratch. That is frustrating and a pain in the ass, now think about how much of a project it is to rebuild an entire country. You must look at the little things I believe, those are the things that will matter the most. This country must learn to crawl before they can run, and we are teaching them to crawl. The results of this war will not be seen for many years, but when they are I hope that people finally realize why we were here.
There have been so many improvements I have seen in the 26 months that I have been here. Schools being built, parks and recreation centers for the kids, elections for government officials, security forces being trained so that one day soon they will be able to fly solo and not need us there to help. Which is exactly what is happening as you are reading this, we now run all missions in conjunction with Iraqi security forces, many we have no part in, they are doing it all by themselves. That is such huge progress you wouldnt understand. Just in our Operational environment our engineers have helped build a local pool, a local recreation center and canals for their water systems. We have provided endless missions patrolling the neighborhoods to ensure that senseless acts of violence dont interrupt with their everyday lives. There are markets and stores opening back up that have not been able to function due to violence since the beginning of the war. I am sure almost none of you have heard about that. I have gone on foot patrols to the local villages around the COP handing out school supplies, winter hats, candy and other things that every child should have access too. These things dont matter to the press; we have this image in some peoples mind as savages and blood thirsty, both are so wrong it makes me sick. I know there have been incidents where one might label the acts as savage, but that is an individuals actions, not our militarys.
A lot of people say even if you dont support the war, support the troops. In my opinion if you dont support what we are doing here you are not supporting the soldiers. I am so proud of what we have done over here. Despite all the adversity these people face they are positive and some of the most unselfish people I have met. As I am winding down my time over here, possibly my last tour ever, I am saddened to the fact that I can do no more to help these people. I have made some very good friends over here and will never forget their kindness or generosity. Dont get me wrong though I am thrilled to go home, I miss so many things I could not begin to list them, but I will carry back with me to many good, and bad, memories