Friday, June 23, 2006
Denoument - in progress
So, what's more anti climatic: the fact that I'm loggin an entry 18 months after I got back or the that I returned and there's still a war to fight? Yes, unlike the Revolution, the War of 1812, the War of Northern Aggression (Fort Sumter aside) , WWI, WWII, and the Gulf War, I returned ala the Korean "Conflict" and Viet Nam.
I felt it before you did, anticipating it a couple of months before we returned: I was coming back and we hadn't won the war. After I got back, the same guy who sent me an adoring email when I was in Falluja awkwardly acknowledged my presence when I passed him in the hallway.
And our homecoming wasn't even after a decisive battle, but after a series of less and less dangerous assignments: police station support and weapons interdiction in South Baghdad, outer cordon and patrols around Falluja, Iraqi leadership security detail out in the Red Zone everyday, Iraqi leadership security detail in the Green Zone most days, and finally "roof top ranger" duty on the FOB reporting attacks from atop of Baath party headquarters.
In the months after my return, I had a lot to say, but didn't want to drag this out: "Hey, you're home, what do you want a medal?" ; ) And everytime I thought about writing, I reminded myself that it would take time away from my family. But, after I saw Rudolf Giuliani speak, Senator Lieberman lose his primary, and the crap the Democrats are putting out in anticipation of the upcoming election, it struck me that Conventional Wisdom had changed more than I had thought.
A question I'm asked a lot is, "Will I ever have to go back?" Well, technically "no". I actually told my kids that I would never have to leave them for such a long time again. One of my sons often said, "Papa, I'll never stop being mad at you for going away." He then transitioned to saying - when I left in the morning, "You are leaving now, but you will be back tonight, right?"
The question I've asked my wife, is whether a child is capable of understanding the difference of having to go and going. We are now looking at a six month tour. Engineering this may be tricky and one question is whether it's fair to other troops.
Another timely study from John's Hopkins published in the Lancet has come out. The last one article which I noted earlier citing 100,000 deaths came out a few days before the 2004 election. Since that number wasn't enough to make a difference the same unitversity in the same peer reviewed medical journal now says it's 650,000.
No news is good news, and that is why good news is not news. We don't hear about the million people who got into work safely this morning, instead we hear about the dozen who didn't. Iraq is just like that. Most of Iraq is secure. People go about their business every day.
People want change in Iraq, but don't offer solutions - besides cut and run. I hear the retiring Generals criticising Secratary Rumsfeld, but I don't hear the detials - maybe they contain sensitive information. Obviously, our intelligence was lacking, but after Frank Church gutted our capacity for collecting human intelligence, it's been challenging.
I think one of two things happend to the WMD: either they hid them in Syria, or they destroyed them after W got into office - whether it be after 9/11 or after the invasion of Afghanistan, they destroyed them.
The difference between Bush and Clinton - who believed the same thing - is tactics: Clinton's military activities - post Mogodishu - if you believe Bill Maher, "...we have been the cowards lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That's cowardly." When you -on a day which you have to look particularly presidential - send a missile to destroy a chemical weapons plant in Sudan, but instead destroy an aspirin factory, all you get is a bunch of dead Sudanese - not Americans.
President Bush had a different approach: ”When I take action, I'm not going to fire a 2 million dollar missile at a 10 dollar empty tent and hit a camel in the butt. It's going to be decisive."
I believed the world changed on 9/11. And having an attention span greater then the average 10 year old, I still believe it. That said I have some understanding of the argument that because we a re a democracy, the civilian population (less the children, I would tend to think) are responsible for US policy and therefore are not innocents.
As Rudy Giuliani says, I wish they din't want to kill us, but it's a fact that they do.
Some say we shouldn't have disbanded the Iraqi army, but the army was headed and by and strongly associated with the Baath party, and using them to keep order would be like the Allies using the recently surrendered Japanese troops to keep the Vietnamese in line in French Indochina in 1945.
Some say that we conquered them to quickly: had we fought Saddam's armies in the field along well defined lines, instead of using a "Shock and Awe" strategy, we would have killed a lot more "bad guys" and diminished and exhausted them. I guess this is the "Kill me now, or kill me later, philosophy" aka Monday morning QB.
This war requires finess and a gradual transfer of power. When I arrived, about half the Iraqis in the security forces had weapons. Later they had helmets and body armor. By the time I left they were flying helicopters and driving around in amored vehichles.
"These are the times that try men's souls." But what's the rest of the Thomas Paine quote?
"The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph."
The war goes on, but Americans seem to be fickle as ever. It's funny, after 9/11 everyone proudly displayed little cards depicting the American flag - under it the maxim, "These colors never run". Well, what do you think that means? Maybe they left off the text, "Unless things get difficult."
And Conventional Wisdom also says that we shouldn't let ourselves get bogged down in this developing civil war. A civil war starts and we should leave? I think about Dafur, Rwanda, the Balkans and say that leaving is the last thing we should do!
The President said his job is to do everything he can to prevent another 9/11. The same goes for the Department of Justice: John Ashcroft, Alberto Gonzales, etc. You may have been confused about their responsibilities as their predecessor, Janet Reno said that her number one priority was preserving the right of the defendant. Actually, in our adversarial system of justice, that's someone else's job; their job is to find bad guys and put them in jail.
Who said the government was the friend of the individual? Our founding fathers knew this and that's why we have the Bill of Rights. The government is going to do everything they can to get the bad guys - it's the citizen's responsibility to bring action against them when their Constitutional rights are violated.
A few years back, I was in a train station when two police officers came up to me and asked me for ID, I told them that I didn't have to show it to them. They wanted to look in my bags, I told them "no". They took me to a detention area along with another guy and had a dog check our bags. The dog "alerted" on my bag and since I had to catch a train, I didn't wait for the court ordered warrant, but instead allowed them to search my bag, in which they found some bananas. They were looking for drugs; I had none, the other guy had a suitcase full of them. Why didn't I just let them search my bag in the first place, so they can move on and catch the real bad guys? I dunno, how come you don't want the government listening to your international phone calls?
Here's a scene of "torture for information" in a "ticking timebomb" scenario you may remember. Detective Callahan needs to find the girl who is buried underground and will run out of oxygen within hours. The dialog proceeds as Detective Callahan grinds his heel into Scorpio's freshly gunshot leg.
Scorpio: No, no, no, no. Don't do anything more. You tried to kill me...Please no more, I'm hurt, can't you see I'm hurt? You shot me, please don't, don't! Let me have a doctor...Please give me the doctor, don't kill me.
Callahan: The girl, where is she?
Scorpio: You tried to kill me!
Callahan: If I tried that, your head woul be splattered all over this field. Now where's the girl?
Scorpio: I want a lawyer!
Callahan: I said, where's the girl?
Scorpio: I have the right for a lawyer.
Callahan: Where's the girl?
Scorpio: I have the right for a lawyer, don't shoot me, I have rights, want a lawyer.
So, there may be scenarios in which torture is a legimate means of getting information.
I'm all over the Geneva Conventions - to the letter. And when Senator McCain - a POW for over five years - speaks out on torture, I listen. The problem is that these people aren't POWs.
Things get tough and what - we pull out? All this "land of the free and home of the brave" and "greatest nation on Earth" rhetoric dies away when we actually have to do something hard that won't give instant gratification. We are absolutely doing the right thing in Iraq - how we are doing it can always be improved.
"Battles are won by the infantry, the armor, the artillery, and air teams, by soldiers living in the rains and huddling in the snow. But wars are won by the great strength of a nation - the soldier and the civilian working together." - General of the Army Omar N. Bradley
Do we want to give up and allow history to judge us as quiters, or do we perserver and know that when we are done, we have made a positive difference for humanity?
I've realized patriotic quotes Americans have been citing for years is just rhetoric for most, but as Woodrow Wilson said, "Sometimes people call me an idealist. Well, that is the way I know I am an American."
In 1998, a group of students from St. Mary's College in the midst of a trip to Guatemala was robbed and the females in the group raped. At gunpoint, eveyone laid face down in a sugar cane field while the robbers raped the women. Afterwards, back in the United States, the professor leading the trip said that he was proud of his students for keeping their heads and remaining calm. Imagine that your hero was there, lying down silently with his female classmates were raped: what would you think of him or her. You might be disappointed. You see, there are some things more precious than life.
When Kuwait was invaded by Iraq in 1990, Sheik Fahd, the younger brother of the Emir of Kuwait stayed behind to defend the palace after the rest of the royal family left. Was there a point to "throwing his life away"? This act gave his people hope - that they were not being abandoned.
The United States Army has raised the maximum age for enlistment to 42. Do you want to die in a nursing home or die helping to bring freedom to people?
So, what's more anti climatic: the fact that I'm loggin an entry 18 months after I got back or the that I returned and there's still a war to fight? Yes, unlike the Revolution, the War of 1812, the War of Northern Aggression (Fort Sumter aside) , WWI, WWII, and the Gulf War, I returned ala the Korean "Conflict" and Viet Nam.
I felt it before you did, anticipating it a couple of months before we returned: I was coming back and we hadn't won the war. After I got back, the same guy who sent me an adoring email when I was in Falluja awkwardly acknowledged my presence when I passed him in the hallway.
And our homecoming wasn't even after a decisive battle, but after a series of less and less dangerous assignments: police station support and weapons interdiction in South Baghdad, outer cordon and patrols around Falluja, Iraqi leadership security detail out in the Red Zone everyday, Iraqi leadership security detail in the Green Zone most days, and finally "roof top ranger" duty on the FOB reporting attacks from atop of Baath party headquarters.
In the months after my return, I had a lot to say, but didn't want to drag this out: "Hey, you're home, what do you want a medal?" ; ) And everytime I thought about writing, I reminded myself that it would take time away from my family. But, after I saw Rudolf Giuliani speak, Senator Lieberman lose his primary, and the crap the Democrats are putting out in anticipation of the upcoming election, it struck me that Conventional Wisdom had changed more than I had thought.
A question I'm asked a lot is, "Will I ever have to go back?" Well, technically "no". I actually told my kids that I would never have to leave them for such a long time again. One of my sons often said, "Papa, I'll never stop being mad at you for going away." He then transitioned to saying - when I left in the morning, "You are leaving now, but you will be back tonight, right?"
The question I've asked my wife, is whether a child is capable of understanding the difference of having to go and going. We are now looking at a six month tour. Engineering this may be tricky and one question is whether it's fair to other troops.
Another timely study from John's Hopkins published in the Lancet has come out. The last one article which I noted earlier citing 100,000 deaths came out a few days before the 2004 election. Since that number wasn't enough to make a difference the same unitversity in the same peer reviewed medical journal now says it's 650,000.
No news is good news, and that is why good news is not news. We don't hear about the million people who got into work safely this morning, instead we hear about the dozen who didn't. Iraq is just like that. Most of Iraq is secure. People go about their business every day.
People want change in Iraq, but don't offer solutions - besides cut and run. I hear the retiring Generals criticising Secratary Rumsfeld, but I don't hear the detials - maybe they contain sensitive information. Obviously, our intelligence was lacking, but after Frank Church gutted our capacity for collecting human intelligence, it's been challenging.
I think one of two things happend to the WMD: either they hid them in Syria, or they destroyed them after W got into office - whether it be after 9/11 or after the invasion of Afghanistan, they destroyed them.
The difference between Bush and Clinton - who believed the same thing - is tactics: Clinton's military activities - post Mogodishu - if you believe Bill Maher, "...we have been the cowards lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That's cowardly." When you -on a day which you have to look particularly presidential - send a missile to destroy a chemical weapons plant in Sudan, but instead destroy an aspirin factory, all you get is a bunch of dead Sudanese - not Americans.
President Bush had a different approach: ”When I take action, I'm not going to fire a 2 million dollar missile at a 10 dollar empty tent and hit a camel in the butt. It's going to be decisive."
I believed the world changed on 9/11. And having an attention span greater then the average 10 year old, I still believe it. That said I have some understanding of the argument that because we a re a democracy, the civilian population (less the children, I would tend to think) are responsible for US policy and therefore are not innocents.
As Rudy Giuliani says, I wish they din't want to kill us, but it's a fact that they do.
Some say we shouldn't have disbanded the Iraqi army, but the army was headed and by and strongly associated with the Baath party, and using them to keep order would be like the Allies using the recently surrendered Japanese troops to keep the Vietnamese in line in French Indochina in 1945.
Some say that we conquered them to quickly: had we fought Saddam's armies in the field along well defined lines, instead of using a "Shock and Awe" strategy, we would have killed a lot more "bad guys" and diminished and exhausted them. I guess this is the "Kill me now, or kill me later, philosophy" aka Monday morning QB.
This war requires finess and a gradual transfer of power. When I arrived, about half the Iraqis in the security forces had weapons. Later they had helmets and body armor. By the time I left they were flying helicopters and driving around in amored vehichles.
"These are the times that try men's souls." But what's the rest of the Thomas Paine quote?
"The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph."
The war goes on, but Americans seem to be fickle as ever. It's funny, after 9/11 everyone proudly displayed little cards depicting the American flag - under it the maxim, "These colors never run". Well, what do you think that means? Maybe they left off the text, "Unless things get difficult."
And Conventional Wisdom also says that we shouldn't let ourselves get bogged down in this developing civil war. A civil war starts and we should leave? I think about Dafur, Rwanda, the Balkans and say that leaving is the last thing we should do!
The President said his job is to do everything he can to prevent another 9/11. The same goes for the Department of Justice: John Ashcroft, Alberto Gonzales, etc. You may have been confused about their responsibilities as their predecessor, Janet Reno said that her number one priority was preserving the right of the defendant. Actually, in our adversarial system of justice, that's someone else's job; their job is to find bad guys and put them in jail.
Who said the government was the friend of the individual? Our founding fathers knew this and that's why we have the Bill of Rights. The government is going to do everything they can to get the bad guys - it's the citizen's responsibility to bring action against them when their Constitutional rights are violated.
A few years back, I was in a train station when two police officers came up to me and asked me for ID, I told them that I didn't have to show it to them. They wanted to look in my bags, I told them "no". They took me to a detention area along with another guy and had a dog check our bags. The dog "alerted" on my bag and since I had to catch a train, I didn't wait for the court ordered warrant, but instead allowed them to search my bag, in which they found some bananas. They were looking for drugs; I had none, the other guy had a suitcase full of them. Why didn't I just let them search my bag in the first place, so they can move on and catch the real bad guys? I dunno, how come you don't want the government listening to your international phone calls?
Here's a scene of "torture for information" in a "ticking timebomb" scenario you may remember. Detective Callahan needs to find the girl who is buried underground and will run out of oxygen within hours. The dialog proceeds as Detective Callahan grinds his heel into Scorpio's freshly gunshot leg.
Scorpio: No, no, no, no. Don't do anything more. You tried to kill me...Please no more, I'm hurt, can't you see I'm hurt? You shot me, please don't, don't! Let me have a doctor...Please give me the doctor, don't kill me.
Callahan: The girl, where is she?
Scorpio: You tried to kill me!
Callahan: If I tried that, your head woul be splattered all over this field. Now where's the girl?
Scorpio: I want a lawyer!
Callahan: I said, where's the girl?
Scorpio: I have the right for a lawyer.
Callahan: Where's the girl?
Scorpio: I have the right for a lawyer, don't shoot me, I have rights, want a lawyer.
So, there may be scenarios in which torture is a legimate means of getting information.
I'm all over the Geneva Conventions - to the letter. And when Senator McCain - a POW for over five years - speaks out on torture, I listen. The problem is that these people aren't POWs.
Things get tough and what - we pull out? All this "land of the free and home of the brave" and "greatest nation on Earth" rhetoric dies away when we actually have to do something hard that won't give instant gratification. We are absolutely doing the right thing in Iraq - how we are doing it can always be improved.
"Battles are won by the infantry, the armor, the artillery, and air teams, by soldiers living in the rains and huddling in the snow. But wars are won by the great strength of a nation - the soldier and the civilian working together." - General of the Army Omar N. Bradley
Do we want to give up and allow history to judge us as quiters, or do we perserver and know that when we are done, we have made a positive difference for humanity?
I've realized patriotic quotes Americans have been citing for years is just rhetoric for most, but as Woodrow Wilson said, "Sometimes people call me an idealist. Well, that is the way I know I am an American."
In 1998, a group of students from St. Mary's College in the midst of a trip to Guatemala was robbed and the females in the group raped. At gunpoint, eveyone laid face down in a sugar cane field while the robbers raped the women. Afterwards, back in the United States, the professor leading the trip said that he was proud of his students for keeping their heads and remaining calm. Imagine that your hero was there, lying down silently with his female classmates were raped: what would you think of him or her. You might be disappointed. You see, there are some things more precious than life.
When Kuwait was invaded by Iraq in 1990, Sheik Fahd, the younger brother of the Emir of Kuwait stayed behind to defend the palace after the rest of the royal family left. Was there a point to "throwing his life away"? This act gave his people hope - that they were not being abandoned.
The United States Army has raised the maximum age for enlistment to 42. Do you want to die in a nursing home or die helping to bring freedom to people?
Monday, May 23, 2005
I Went to My Last Drill
It was a ceremony at the 28th Infantry Division Shrine in Boalsburg, PA. I didn't know much about it before I went, but I figured since their might be some veterans there, I'd cut my hair and get my combat patch (89 MP Brigade) sewn on my class A's to look presentable. Just a couple of Soldiers from my company attended as it wasn't a regular drill date for us (I had asked for some alternative drill dates so that I could be with Mary on our 11th anniversary, since I had missed the 10th). National Guard ceremonies are rather top heavy as most of the attendees are officers, their NCO counterparts, and full time guardsmen (mostly E-6 and E-7s). I took the 28th Memorial Highway all the way there and it was a beautiful drive.
Turns out, even though it was the most "Army" type day I've ever experienced, it made for a great ending to my enlistment. I saw veterans from World War II and the Korean Conflict as well as Kip, my 1st SGT from Falluja, and even the Wolf.
There were about 40 Soldiers from OIF2 who attended the ceremony; we were actually guests and as such we sat facing the audience with the speaker's podium on our left and the boots, ID tags, and rifles of the three guys we lost during the deployment on our right. Of the 4,500 PA Guard Soldiers deployed in OIF and OEF, we've "only" lost three - the first combat deaths since the Korean war. One Soldier was in my deployed company, B 2nd/103 Armor (Forward), the other two were with our company which was cobbled together in Falluja. It was humbling to be up there with them. Several people spoke including the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (or some relation?), who, through tears and a choking voice, thanked the US and the Soldiers of the 28th Division for liberating her country 60 years ago. Unlike the lady from Luxembourg and the Soldiers of WW 2 who liberated her country, we have no idea what it is like to live in oppression.
It's been reported that WW 2 veterans die at a rate of 1,000 per day. They have done an outstanding job of remembering their own fallen, but who will remember them when they are gone?
After the ceremony, several dignitaries came over to shake our hands and the 28th Division Command Sergeant Major gave us his coin.
I also turned my gear into the armory: when I went through the sheet of what I owed, I was a little sad that my beret was on the list. I had thrown it in the closet with my other hats, intending that it not be put in the yard sale pile with my other personal stuff. We never wore the beret on our deployment and I was sickened that it had been co-opted from the Rangers, though it was certainly less costly and less dangerous than GEN Shinseki's other boondoggle, the Stryker. The supply seargent said the beret was mine to keep; I guess, if nothing else, it makes a great memento.
It was a ceremony at the 28th Infantry Division Shrine in Boalsburg, PA. I didn't know much about it before I went, but I figured since their might be some veterans there, I'd cut my hair and get my combat patch (89 MP Brigade) sewn on my class A's to look presentable. Just a couple of Soldiers from my company attended as it wasn't a regular drill date for us (I had asked for some alternative drill dates so that I could be with Mary on our 11th anniversary, since I had missed the 10th). National Guard ceremonies are rather top heavy as most of the attendees are officers, their NCO counterparts, and full time guardsmen (mostly E-6 and E-7s). I took the 28th Memorial Highway all the way there and it was a beautiful drive.
Turns out, even though it was the most "Army" type day I've ever experienced, it made for a great ending to my enlistment. I saw veterans from World War II and the Korean Conflict as well as Kip, my 1st SGT from Falluja, and even the Wolf.
There were about 40 Soldiers from OIF2 who attended the ceremony; we were actually guests and as such we sat facing the audience with the speaker's podium on our left and the boots, ID tags, and rifles of the three guys we lost during the deployment on our right. Of the 4,500 PA Guard Soldiers deployed in OIF and OEF, we've "only" lost three - the first combat deaths since the Korean war. One Soldier was in my deployed company, B 2nd/103 Armor (Forward), the other two were with our company which was cobbled together in Falluja. It was humbling to be up there with them. Several people spoke including the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (or some relation?), who, through tears and a choking voice, thanked the US and the Soldiers of the 28th Division for liberating her country 60 years ago. Unlike the lady from Luxembourg and the Soldiers of WW 2 who liberated her country, we have no idea what it is like to live in oppression.
It's been reported that WW 2 veterans die at a rate of 1,000 per day. They have done an outstanding job of remembering their own fallen, but who will remember them when they are gone?
After the ceremony, several dignitaries came over to shake our hands and the 28th Division Command Sergeant Major gave us his coin.
I also turned my gear into the armory: when I went through the sheet of what I owed, I was a little sad that my beret was on the list. I had thrown it in the closet with my other hats, intending that it not be put in the yard sale pile with my other personal stuff. We never wore the beret on our deployment and I was sickened that it had been co-opted from the Rangers, though it was certainly less costly and less dangerous than GEN Shinseki's other boondoggle, the Stryker. The supply seargent said the beret was mine to keep; I guess, if nothing else, it makes a great memento.
Sunday, March 20, 2005
Personal Security Detail
Anyone who has paid attention knows that we assisted "in providing security for many of the high-ranking Iraqi officials who make up the nation's new government, prefacing a turnover of power on June 30." I think I was one of the few people in theatre who read this article as when I mentioned it, leadership was caught off guard.
First, here's the text of a certificate of appreciation we received which gives more detail on what we did: "For exemplary performance of duties while serving as a member of the ... Personal Security Detail for the top ranking officials of the Iraqi Interim Government from June 2004 to February 2005. You consistently displayed keen operational insight and superb initiative in the execution of your assigned duties. Working tirelessly with the ... Close-in-Protection elements, you provided superb escort protection for hundreds of high risk motorcade movements. Your countless hours of shielding Iraqi officials from possible threats for over 240 days represents the true character and perseverance of US forces serving in Iraq. Exhibiting vigilance and dedication to duty, your actions and efforts were crucial in ensuring the uninterrupted Transfer of Sovereignty to the Interim Iraqi Government. Additionally, you have played a vital role in the first free elections in Iraq in decades and set the stage for a Democratic Iraq. Your distinct performance reflected great credit upon yourself, your command, and the Multi-National Coalition Forces in Iraq, and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Army."
When we were first told that we would be guarding VIPs, some guys said they hoped they got assigned to an attractive female VIP like they were Kevin Costner in "The Bodyguard". My team leader, Reed, nailed it when he said that we might be able to see the principal now and then behind the thick tinted glass and inner cordon of CIPES security.
The Close-in-Protection elements (CIPES) were made up of elite military personnel. Some groups of CIPES were amiable while others were aloof. Besides being military experts, there were other requirements fore being a CIPE: one had to be good looking, have a great haircut, and possess a cool nickname. And as Reed said, if you don't have a cool nick name, don't sweat it, they'll give you one.
One day, we were the tail vehicle and caught, well, the tail end of a stand off between the CIPES and the Marines at a checkpoint. We were running our usual convoy and though the lead truck gave the Marines a heads up, the rest of the convoy was delayed. The Marines had a shift change during this delay and when the principal came through, the Marines stopped the convoy and approached the limo wanting to know who was inside. The CIPES, who do not wear uniforms, jumped out of the limo and raised their weapons at the Marines. The Marines surrounded the CIPES and pointed weapons back at them in "condition one" (round in the chamber with the safety off). The Marines also called their quick reaction force (QRF) for back up. The stand off ended when the CIPES thought that they had better show some ID. The CIPE commander had an impromptu meeting with my platoon that day and went over checkpoint do's and don'ts, though admitting it was his cocky CIPES who were to blame.
He said that we didn't need to be so secretive about our mission when going through checkpoints, commenting on one Soldier who told a Marine asking about the convoy, "I'm sorry but you don't have the clearance for me to tell you that. He said we could simply say "Tier 1 IIG" (Interim Iraqi Government) escort, when we were asked by coalition personnel.
This was a long time in coming. Soldiers bragged to each other about who they snubbed at our roadblocks:
"I told a full colonel that I couldn't tell him what we were doing."
"I told a two star general!"
I always thought that the people who wanted to know why we were blocking the road would figure it out when several humvees, a few armored SUVs, and a limousine rolled by.
The next day, the CIPE commander had a meeting to discuss the incident with the whole company. The commander again went over checkpoint protocols and told the story of the Soldier who told the Marine corporal that he didn't have the necessary clearance, which got a laugh. When it was time for questions, I said something like, "Sir, you make light of the Soldier who told the Marine at the checkpoint that he didn't have the clearance to talk about the mission, but I think it's reasonable to think this way due to some of what we have been told. There also seems to be some confusion because of what has happened. On one hand, a Soldier told people back home the details of what he was doing and he was whisked away a few hours later - never to be heard from again. I also heard that what we are doing is in violation of the SOFA (status of forces agreement). And I'm not talking about PFCs (that's code for E6 and higher) telling me this. And on the other hand we had an embedded reporter write in our hometown newspaper that we are providing security for high ranking Iraqi officials."
The commander, caught flatfooted, quipped that I had asked three different questions, but he'd try his best to answer them all. He said the Soldier who violated OPSEC was removed for his own good. If the enemy knew we were part of the PSD, they might threaten to kill our family if we did not cooperate with an assassination attempt such as looking the other way during an attempting security breech.
Regarding SOFA, he said the President of the United States knows what we are doing, the State Department knows what we are doing, and Condoleezza Rice knows what we are doing and no one has told him anything otherwise. Someone pointed out later that he never really responded to whether it was against our SOFA with Iraq.
He did say that he was very disturbed that the description of our mission appeared in a news article. An LT tried to mitigate by saying that the article was written a long time ago, but I'm not sure whether it helped to know that the enemy could have potentially known about our mission for over five months. The CIPE commander was a very impressive guy; a former enlisted Marine, he had more military bearing and professionalism than most officers.
My squad was in two different platoons while on this mission; one guarded Deputy President (DP), Al-Jafaari, the other, the Deputy Prime Minister. The DP lived in the red zone, which made him much more accesible to guests he hosted at his numerous lunches, dinners, and late suppers. DPM lived in the I Zone, which made sense for him since he was a Kurd and did not entertain throngs of visitors. The first night we provided security for the DP, he sent out plates of food, with included lamb, fresh bread, and vegetables. The next day several Soldiers and CIPES were sick, so we ate MREs after that.
The DP hosted a little gathering for us to meet and have our picture taken with him. Our Platoon Sergeant said before we went in, "This guy is the Vice President. It doesn't matter if he's the Vice President of Iraq, of the United States, of whatever the f***. He IS the vice president and you WILL treat him with respect. You will address him as "doctor" unless we tell you otherwise. If you have had any military bearing in your career, now is the time to use it. I'm just asking for five minutes."
Though he was well educated and conversational in English, the guys over did it. One Soldier saying, as he pointed to his hand, "CAN - WE - SHAKE - HANDS? I - have - been - practicing - my - Arabic." Another said, miming a camera, "Should - we - take - the - picture - now?" His staff brought out candies for us and he chatted with us and thanked us for our service.
DP: Who is the youngest?
Stan: I am: 19
DP: Who is the oldest?
Shultz: I'm 49 and I can still kick the 19 yr old's ass!
So much for military bearing.
We were told several times that if any of these guys got killed, the elections would be postponed, so most of us strongly believed in the mission and saw protecting these leaders as guarding the short term future of Iraq.
Anyone who has paid attention knows that we assisted "in providing security for many of the high-ranking Iraqi officials who make up the nation's new government, prefacing a turnover of power on June 30." I think I was one of the few people in theatre who read this article as when I mentioned it, leadership was caught off guard.
First, here's the text of a certificate of appreciation we received which gives more detail on what we did: "For exemplary performance of duties while serving as a member of the ... Personal Security Detail for the top ranking officials of the Iraqi Interim Government from June 2004 to February 2005. You consistently displayed keen operational insight and superb initiative in the execution of your assigned duties. Working tirelessly with the ... Close-in-Protection elements, you provided superb escort protection for hundreds of high risk motorcade movements. Your countless hours of shielding Iraqi officials from possible threats for over 240 days represents the true character and perseverance of US forces serving in Iraq. Exhibiting vigilance and dedication to duty, your actions and efforts were crucial in ensuring the uninterrupted Transfer of Sovereignty to the Interim Iraqi Government. Additionally, you have played a vital role in the first free elections in Iraq in decades and set the stage for a Democratic Iraq. Your distinct performance reflected great credit upon yourself, your command, and the Multi-National Coalition Forces in Iraq, and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Army."
When we were first told that we would be guarding VIPs, some guys said they hoped they got assigned to an attractive female VIP like they were Kevin Costner in "The Bodyguard". My team leader, Reed, nailed it when he said that we might be able to see the principal now and then behind the thick tinted glass and inner cordon of CIPES security.
The Close-in-Protection elements (CIPES) were made up of elite military personnel. Some groups of CIPES were amiable while others were aloof. Besides being military experts, there were other requirements fore being a CIPE: one had to be good looking, have a great haircut, and possess a cool nickname. And as Reed said, if you don't have a cool nick name, don't sweat it, they'll give you one.
One day, we were the tail vehicle and caught, well, the tail end of a stand off between the CIPES and the Marines at a checkpoint. We were running our usual convoy and though the lead truck gave the Marines a heads up, the rest of the convoy was delayed. The Marines had a shift change during this delay and when the principal came through, the Marines stopped the convoy and approached the limo wanting to know who was inside. The CIPES, who do not wear uniforms, jumped out of the limo and raised their weapons at the Marines. The Marines surrounded the CIPES and pointed weapons back at them in "condition one" (round in the chamber with the safety off). The Marines also called their quick reaction force (QRF) for back up. The stand off ended when the CIPES thought that they had better show some ID. The CIPE commander had an impromptu meeting with my platoon that day and went over checkpoint do's and don'ts, though admitting it was his cocky CIPES who were to blame.
He said that we didn't need to be so secretive about our mission when going through checkpoints, commenting on one Soldier who told a Marine asking about the convoy, "I'm sorry but you don't have the clearance for me to tell you that. He said we could simply say "Tier 1 IIG" (Interim Iraqi Government) escort, when we were asked by coalition personnel.
This was a long time in coming. Soldiers bragged to each other about who they snubbed at our roadblocks:
"I told a full colonel that I couldn't tell him what we were doing."
"I told a two star general!"
I always thought that the people who wanted to know why we were blocking the road would figure it out when several humvees, a few armored SUVs, and a limousine rolled by.
The next day, the CIPE commander had a meeting to discuss the incident with the whole company. The commander again went over checkpoint protocols and told the story of the Soldier who told the Marine corporal that he didn't have the necessary clearance, which got a laugh. When it was time for questions, I said something like, "Sir, you make light of the Soldier who told the Marine at the checkpoint that he didn't have the clearance to talk about the mission, but I think it's reasonable to think this way due to some of what we have been told. There also seems to be some confusion because of what has happened. On one hand, a Soldier told people back home the details of what he was doing and he was whisked away a few hours later - never to be heard from again. I also heard that what we are doing is in violation of the SOFA (status of forces agreement). And I'm not talking about PFCs (that's code for E6 and higher) telling me this. And on the other hand we had an embedded reporter write in our hometown newspaper that we are providing security for high ranking Iraqi officials."
The commander, caught flatfooted, quipped that I had asked three different questions, but he'd try his best to answer them all. He said the Soldier who violated OPSEC was removed for his own good. If the enemy knew we were part of the PSD, they might threaten to kill our family if we did not cooperate with an assassination attempt such as looking the other way during an attempting security breech.
Regarding SOFA, he said the President of the United States knows what we are doing, the State Department knows what we are doing, and Condoleezza Rice knows what we are doing and no one has told him anything otherwise. Someone pointed out later that he never really responded to whether it was against our SOFA with Iraq.
He did say that he was very disturbed that the description of our mission appeared in a news article. An LT tried to mitigate by saying that the article was written a long time ago, but I'm not sure whether it helped to know that the enemy could have potentially known about our mission for over five months. The CIPE commander was a very impressive guy; a former enlisted Marine, he had more military bearing and professionalism than most officers.
My squad was in two different platoons while on this mission; one guarded Deputy President (DP), Al-Jafaari, the other, the Deputy Prime Minister. The DP lived in the red zone, which made him much more accesible to guests he hosted at his numerous lunches, dinners, and late suppers. DPM lived in the I Zone, which made sense for him since he was a Kurd and did not entertain throngs of visitors. The first night we provided security for the DP, he sent out plates of food, with included lamb, fresh bread, and vegetables. The next day several Soldiers and CIPES were sick, so we ate MREs after that.
The DP hosted a little gathering for us to meet and have our picture taken with him. Our Platoon Sergeant said before we went in, "This guy is the Vice President. It doesn't matter if he's the Vice President of Iraq, of the United States, of whatever the f***. He IS the vice president and you WILL treat him with respect. You will address him as "doctor" unless we tell you otherwise. If you have had any military bearing in your career, now is the time to use it. I'm just asking for five minutes."
Though he was well educated and conversational in English, the guys over did it. One Soldier saying, as he pointed to his hand, "CAN - WE - SHAKE - HANDS? I - have - been - practicing - my - Arabic." Another said, miming a camera, "Should - we - take - the - picture - now?" His staff brought out candies for us and he chatted with us and thanked us for our service.
DP: Who is the youngest?
Stan: I am: 19
DP: Who is the oldest?
Shultz: I'm 49 and I can still kick the 19 yr old's ass!
So much for military bearing.
We were told several times that if any of these guys got killed, the elections would be postponed, so most of us strongly believed in the mission and saw protecting these leaders as guarding the short term future of Iraq.
With the principal.
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Did anyone stumble across your blog on the net and confront you about it, and , if so, were there any interesting exchanges?
I got this question about three weeks ago and for the entire year - well, I guess I should only count the time people have known about it: four months - the answer was pretty much, no. Interestingly, the very last day at Ft Dix, I was confronted separately by two E7s who didn’t like my comments on the narratives they apparently wrote for my ARCOM (Army Commendation Medal).
One told me he was very insulted by what I wrote and said that they tried to personalize each statement. He said even if I thought I didn’t deserve it, "I bet your family thinks you deserve it.” Actually, no. After reviewing the criteria for the medal, which is awarded to a Soldier who, “distinguished himself/herself by heroism, meritorious achievement or meritorious service (italics mine),” my wife agreed that that it was not deserved.
The other E7 was a little more bitter:
SFC Phil: Thanks for the insult, Judge
Colin: Roger that, Sergeant.
SFC Phil: Don’t worry we can revoke the ARCOM
Colin: I’ll just give it back to you.
SFC Phil: Oh, no, no, no, we’ll revoke it.
I decided to return the ARCOM that day and called Mary at home and asked her to bring it to the armory. I had mailed it from Baghdad, but it hadn’t arrived yet. She could tell I was bothered by it and because she’d been alone with the boys for over a year, she said, “They are being babies and you need to be a big boy.”
Obviously, I was too subtle with what I wrote before (did they get the other posts?), so I’ll lay it out:
1. Everyone gets a medal.
2. In order to get the medal, I had to distinguish himself.
3. To show that I had distinguished myself, leadership had to write about how I distinguished myself.
4. Since the only way I distinguished myself was that I avoided UCMJ action, they had to use hyperbole.
5. I found the hyperbole humorous and wrote about it in the blog.
Besides this incident, no one’s really confronted me about it. When something outrageous happens, guys will look at me and say, “That’s going in the blog,” but most of the stuff was either sensitive or too crass to post. I’ve been asked, more than once, whether my blog is mostly positive or negative. In return, I’d ask them whether their experience was positive or negative and they’d say that it wasn’t too bad. Then I learned to ask whether they’d want to come back again and everyone one says “no”, with the exception a Kip who wants come back working for DynCorp making $120,000 a year. Hey, if we liked this job, we’d be regular Army.
I have to admit, I’m no Soldier. Like another guy said, “I’m just here to help out.” Yes, I’m very critical of the military, but it’s not because I don’t believe in its mission. It’s just all screwed up. One Soldier said when we were flying out of Baghdad, “Remember the time it was icy, so we couldn’t fly in the plane from the Minnesota National Guard because it lacked deicing equipment, so we had to wait for the one from Florida that did?” It’s really like that.
I got this question about three weeks ago and for the entire year - well, I guess I should only count the time people have known about it: four months - the answer was pretty much, no. Interestingly, the very last day at Ft Dix, I was confronted separately by two E7s who didn’t like my comments on the narratives they apparently wrote for my ARCOM (Army Commendation Medal).
One told me he was very insulted by what I wrote and said that they tried to personalize each statement. He said even if I thought I didn’t deserve it, "I bet your family thinks you deserve it.” Actually, no. After reviewing the criteria for the medal, which is awarded to a Soldier who, “distinguished himself/herself by heroism, meritorious achievement or meritorious service (italics mine),” my wife agreed that that it was not deserved.
The other E7 was a little more bitter:
SFC Phil: Thanks for the insult, Judge
Colin: Roger that, Sergeant.
SFC Phil: Don’t worry we can revoke the ARCOM
Colin: I’ll just give it back to you.
SFC Phil: Oh, no, no, no, we’ll revoke it.
I decided to return the ARCOM that day and called Mary at home and asked her to bring it to the armory. I had mailed it from Baghdad, but it hadn’t arrived yet. She could tell I was bothered by it and because she’d been alone with the boys for over a year, she said, “They are being babies and you need to be a big boy.”
Obviously, I was too subtle with what I wrote before (did they get the other posts?), so I’ll lay it out:
1. Everyone gets a medal.
2. In order to get the medal, I had to distinguish himself.
3. To show that I had distinguished myself, leadership had to write about how I distinguished myself.
4. Since the only way I distinguished myself was that I avoided UCMJ action, they had to use hyperbole.
5. I found the hyperbole humorous and wrote about it in the blog.
Besides this incident, no one’s really confronted me about it. When something outrageous happens, guys will look at me and say, “That’s going in the blog,” but most of the stuff was either sensitive or too crass to post. I’ve been asked, more than once, whether my blog is mostly positive or negative. In return, I’d ask them whether their experience was positive or negative and they’d say that it wasn’t too bad. Then I learned to ask whether they’d want to come back again and everyone one says “no”, with the exception a Kip who wants come back working for DynCorp making $120,000 a year. Hey, if we liked this job, we’d be regular Army.
I have to admit, I’m no Soldier. Like another guy said, “I’m just here to help out.” Yes, I’m very critical of the military, but it’s not because I don’t believe in its mission. It’s just all screwed up. One Soldier said when we were flying out of Baghdad, “Remember the time it was icy, so we couldn’t fly in the plane from the Minnesota National Guard because it lacked deicing equipment, so we had to wait for the one from Florida that did?” It’s really like that.
Coming Home
We left Fort Dix Saturday morning and arrived to a hero’s welcome. When we got off the highway, about 30 fire and rescue vehicles were waiting to escort us back to the armory. People were lined up here and there for about 15 miles. I can’t say enough about our welcome: it was tremendous. Not to take anything away from other communities, but I don’t think we could have received such a great welcome anywhere else but in a small town, like Tamaqua, where the people grow up instilled with a tradition of service and appreciation for those who serve.
We left Fort Dix Saturday morning and arrived to a hero’s welcome. When we got off the highway, about 30 fire and rescue vehicles were waiting to escort us back to the armory. People were lined up here and there for about 15 miles. I can’t say enough about our welcome: it was tremendous. Not to take anything away from other communities, but I don’t think we could have received such a great welcome anywhere else but in a small town, like Tamaqua, where the people grow up instilled with a tradition of service and appreciation for those who serve.
Monday, March 07, 2005
My Laptop is Down
It made it all the way to Philadelphia International Airport (where I used it for a couple of hours waiting for the bus), but I found it wouldn't turn on when I tried to use it a couple of days later. It's ironic, as the barracks in which we stayed now have both LAN drops and wireless connections; before the library was the only venue to get on line. The Dell technician comes today and I'll post what I have on it.
It made it all the way to Philadelphia International Airport (where I used it for a couple of hours waiting for the bus), but I found it wouldn't turn on when I tried to use it a couple of days later. It's ironic, as the barracks in which we stayed now have both LAN drops and wireless connections; before the library was the only venue to get on line. The Dell technician comes today and I'll post what I have on it.
Friday, March 04, 2005
Fort Dix
We have completed the demobilization process and we leave tommorow. We've turned in equipment, received medical screenings, and attended briefings. One presenter, explaining our VA benefits said, "You are a veteran . It's just not old men wearing funny hats with buttons: you are a veteran."
We are on lock down tonight and can't leave the base, though technically, we haven't been able to leave the base all week. We are experiencing an Army favorite: collective punishment. It was okay when a guy passed out in the right bunk, but in the wrong room. But when two guys passed out in the wrong building after trying to kick in the doors because their keys didn't work, well that's different.
We have completed the demobilization process and we leave tommorow. We've turned in equipment, received medical screenings, and attended briefings. One presenter, explaining our VA benefits said, "You are a veteran . It's just not old men wearing funny hats with buttons: you are a veteran."
We are on lock down tonight and can't leave the base, though technically, we haven't been able to leave the base all week. We are experiencing an Army favorite: collective punishment. It was okay when a guy passed out in the right bunk, but in the wrong room. But when two guys passed out in the wrong building after trying to kick in the doors because their keys didn't work, well that's different.
Monday, February 28, 2005
Changes?
Well, someone went to bat for us and we were able to wear the Cav patch after all. And though the customs process took place over a six hour period, we were given a one hour break to go to the PX.
We flew Northwest Airlines and had individual “On Demand” type video and music monitors. Stopping over in Amsterdam, the flight crew handed out free Heineken once we were air borne.
Has this journal made an overnight impact and thus violated the Prime Directive? Probably not.
We flew through French airspace in a French plane, and drank French water. I asked the pilot why we went through Saudi Arabia and the Mediterranean instead of Iraq and Turkey, which he said would have saved about 45 minutes. He said it was company policy. He said they probably save money going this way because they former charges less money for allowing them to fly through their airspace. There go those Ottomans - again.
Because of the weather at Maguire AFB (Ft. Dix), we were diverted to Philadelphia. One former airman speculated that the snow clearing equipment was in Afghanistan.
Bewildered flight attendant came on the PA, “They still don’t know what they are going to do. Sit back and watch it as it happens.”
“Welcome to the Army,” was the refrain heard from the cabin.
We waited on the plane, then in the customs holding area, then in reception. About an hour later the Adjutant General of the Pennsylvania Guard arrived with other staff at the airport to meet us.
We finally made it back to Ft. Dix at 0200, but were advised we could sleep in ‘til 0800.
Well, someone went to bat for us and we were able to wear the Cav patch after all. And though the customs process took place over a six hour period, we were given a one hour break to go to the PX.
We flew Northwest Airlines and had individual “On Demand” type video and music monitors. Stopping over in Amsterdam, the flight crew handed out free Heineken once we were air borne.
Has this journal made an overnight impact and thus violated the Prime Directive? Probably not.
We flew through French airspace in a French plane, and drank French water. I asked the pilot why we went through Saudi Arabia and the Mediterranean instead of Iraq and Turkey, which he said would have saved about 45 minutes. He said it was company policy. He said they probably save money going this way because they former charges less money for allowing them to fly through their airspace. There go those Ottomans - again.
Because of the weather at Maguire AFB (Ft. Dix), we were diverted to Philadelphia. One former airman speculated that the snow clearing equipment was in Afghanistan.
Bewildered flight attendant came on the PA, “They still don’t know what they are going to do. Sit back and watch it as it happens.”
“Welcome to the Army,” was the refrain heard from the cabin.
We waited on the plane, then in the customs holding area, then in reception. About an hour later the Adjutant General of the Pennsylvania Guard arrived with other staff at the airport to meet us.
We finally made it back to Ft. Dix at 0200, but were advised we could sleep in ‘til 0800.
