Sgt Bruce Sorge Iraq Blog

Settled In

2009-09-22T18:29:03-04:00

At the behest of friends I have decided to keep this blog up for another year. Not much to say really other than I am settled into my new apartment and am getting ready to start training for our next deployment, which is going to be Afghanistan. Not sure when we go exactly but I am sure in the next couple years. In the mean time I plan to drop a recruiter packet and be an Army recruiter for two or three years. Be a nice change. Cross my fingers and see what happens.

Home at last

2009-08-17T00:00:00-04:00

So we finally made it home. It is a wonderful feeling. Now to get settled into my new apartment, enjoy fast internet and real TV as well as the Colorado Springs weather.

The year went by pretty fast I must say. Although we suffered a tremendous loss, we feel that we did some good in both the Kirkuk and Mosul provinces. Violence has gone down in Mosul and the people are generally happier.

This will be my last entry in the blog as the domain name is expiring and I do not need the blog anymore. Thanks to Hatton for being kind enough to host the site for me. Thanks to everyone for all the support and encouraging words thoughout the tour.

Seven Days

2009-08-08T08:01:52-04:00

So we are down to about seven days until we are home. To say we are excited is an understatement. The silly details are about over, all of our stuff is packed in the shipping containers and will be leaving Iraq soon. We have turned in everything that we do not need to carry with us. Our days are filled with doing school work, hanging out at the MWR playing games or watching movies, sitting in the tent playing games and watching movies, or sleeping and eating. Soon though we will be in Kuwait where we will go through some mandatory briefings, then off to home to more briefings and all the other silly things that we have to do when we redeploy back home. But then we will be on block leave shortly after that. 30 days of vacation. Good times.

Almost Home

2009-07-30T13:11:42-04:00

So, we are about two weeks from going home. My company has been moved to some tents that, although they have AC, they are still miserable during the day since it is well over 100 degrees here and the tents have no insulation. Still, it is one step closer to home. We have not been on any missions in almost a month and the days drag on. Good thing for me I am enrolled in classes on-line so I can keep busy.
Anyway, we are now doing all the tedious details of getting everything packed up. Every day for the next week or so we pack up a few more things that are not needed. Although it is boring and hot work, everything we pack up is one less thing we have to worry about later and one step closer to home.

Also, the sorgeblog domain name expires in September so the blog will come down upon my return home.

Why I hate POG's

2009-07-22T16:49:00-04:00

A little over a month ago, one of our tanker platoons was out in sector and encountered A VBIED. The sad part is that the vehicle actually ran into one of the trucks and bounced back. Not one gunner fired on the car. Then, once all the trucks were out of the danger zone, the vehicle blew up. Two of the tankers apparently suffered mild concussions. So, being the useless fat ass tankers that they are, they discovered that they were eligible for the Purple Heart medal. Now, anyone who has been alive for a day knows what the Purple Heart is. So, they tried to get one of the Dr's to sign off on the medical exam that supported their receiving Purple Hearts, and he refused. So a senior enlisted person in the tanker company put together his own story board and supported their receiving this medal, and lo and behold, they got them. So, a couple of days ago, we got to watch them receive their medals. Understand that a few months ago, five brave and outstanding soldiers lost their lives to a VBIED and received their Purple Hearts posthumously, and a sixth soldier who took a piece of shrapnel three inches square in his side receeived his, and is still in the US recovering from that wound. So now these fat pieces of shit are wearing a medal that thousands of brave men and women EARNED by spilling their blood on the battlefield, or worse gave their lives in battle. So now I have absolutely no respect for tankers at all. They have just desicrated a sacred medal and made it worthless.
This is but another example of these useless bastards being jealous of the infantry because not one infantry soldier in their right mind would ever do this. We had three soldiers who were practically standing on an IED when it went off, and by the grace of God non of them were seriously injured except for suffering major concussions. Not one of these soldiers wanted a Purple Heart.
The POG's were jealous of the Infantry for another award, the coveted Combat Infantryman's Badge. This is a badge that is earned by infantrymen for being in direct or indirect contact with the enemy. The POG's decided that it was not fair that we had our own special badge signifying that we were infantrymen and we fought in battle, so they cried and whined until they got their own badge, called the Combat Action Badge. Another affront to the Infantry.
Tankers can rot in hell.

Happy Birthday America

2009-07-04T06:15:53-04:00

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

hen in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

— John Hancock ¹

^{1 The Declaration of Independence, Thomas Kindig, http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/document/index.htm (accessed July 4th, 2009)}

Winding Down

2009-06-29T13:30:37-04:00

So it is no secret that the US military is pulling out of the cities in Iraq. Starting tomorrow we are taking a back seat to the ISF (Iraqi Security Forces) as they take the lead in securing and safeguarding their own shit-hole country. We really do not mind though. It is about time they did something productive. We only hope that they can actually pull it off, otherwise we are back to square one. Again, not a secret. If the ISF can pull it off, then that is one HUGE step closer to home.
I only wish the stupid liberal media would make its mind up. I was watching the Communist News Network yesterday, and they all but accused us of abandoning the Iraqi's. Really? Let's see, you bitch and whine (two traits of a liberal) about us leaving Iraq, then we take steps to do that, and you whine about that. So what exactly do they want? Here is a idea, how about you shut the hell up, get out of our way, and let us do our job so we CAN get out of here. Or report the WHOLE story. Like for instance, we are not abandoning the Iraqi's. We are here and on constant stand by waiting for the ISF to call us for help. When they do, we will send the proper response team. And they can alway ask for helicopter and UAV support. We have made that pefectly clear. In other words, we are still here, but rather than taking the offensive and clogging their already busy streets with our large trucks, we are sitting here waiting to support them in their time of need.

Bad day for an IA Soldier

2009-06-18T00:00:00-04:00

So today we were hanging out an an Iraqi Army (IA) COP (Combat Out Post) when we heard a lot of gunfire about 200 yards away. We sat around and watched but could not see anything. As the gunfire got worse (they were not shooting AT us) we decided we need to get in our trucks and see what was going on. When we got on the scene, there was an IA soldier slumped in a chair with a shit load of blood coming out of his head. Apparently he was sitting in a chair not paying attention to anything when this guy came around the corner and shot him three times in the head. Bad day for him but he is probably in a better place. The funny part was when their ambulance arrived, one of the medics actually brought his aid bag. I said to the guy too late for that shit, he needs a body bag. Of course they do not have any so we gave him one of ours (yes, we carry two in each truck). Anyway, another day in paradise.

Summer is here

2009-06-13T22:02:52-04:00

It is official. It is 1:00 AM right now and the temperature is a nice 102 Degrees F. The days are getting much hotter now. Soon we will walk out of our nice air conditioned chu's and feel as if someone has turned on the worlds largest hair dryer, put it on retard hot and blasted it right in our face. It is such a joyous occasion to walk outside and for a couple of seconds you literally cannot breathe.
On the bright side we are going home in two months. I cannot believe that we have been here 10 months already, but we have. Soon we will be back to green grass and normal summer temps in the 80's in the day and the 60's in the evening. We might have to break out our winter clothes when we get home this summer, LOL.

I went to war in Iraq and garrison broke out

2009-06-05T06:57:00-04:00

So, after being here for almost a year, we have come to realize that the war here is not so much a war as it is a chance for Sergeants Majors and high ranking officers to impose their will, not upon the Iraqis, but us, US servicemen and women.
Some of the nice things that we do now are:
We have to wear reflective belts 24/7 when in our PT uniform. There are two things wrong with this.
1. In the day time, you really cannot see a guy wearing a gray t-shirt and black shorts, again, in the daytime? You need a reflective belt to avoid running us over when you are traveling down the road at a blistering 15 MPH?
2. How does a reflective belt work exactly in the daytime?
3. The shirt and the Army on the pants are ALREADY REFLECTIVE! What is the point spending hours of R&D time to make a uniform that can be seen at night, only to have to apply another layer of protection?

We are in a full salute zone. Guess those prima donna officers need to be affirmed that they are still officers. I don’t know.

AR 670-1 is still in full effect. We cannot cuff our sleeves, we have to have our boots bloused, and it is well over 100 degrees F here. Here is a thought, how about using a common sense approach to ensuring that heat casualties are prevented rather than enforce garrison rules that will increase the likelihood that we will have heat casualties.

No wearing of civilian clothes. Hmm, we have ID cards, and weapons. How about let us wear civilian clothes, and ensure that our ID card is visibly displayed and still require us to carry our weapon. If you see a dude in civilian clothes AND carrying a weapon, AND they have a DOD ID card that clearly states your branch of service as well as your rank, then there is still no confusion as to who the underpaid and overworked service member is and who the overpaid and underworked civilian contractor is. But then I guess that if you do not see the rank of the officer, they do not get their salute. Again, I don’t know.

FOB Police. Yeah, that is right. If you are driving around the FOB, and you are speeding or you do a California stop at a stop sign, the FOB police will pull you over and give you a ticket. And these are NOT MP’s, but rather shitbag soldiers that the units do not want to have to deal with, so they give them up to BDOC.

No sexual relations among non-married couples. And I do not mean the ones who are married, separated from their spouse and suddenly think that they are geographical bachelors. I am talking about single soldiers who meet someone they like and want to have sex. Married couples who are deployed together get to actually live in the same room together. So why can a couple of consenting adults engage in what comes natural to humans when they are attracted to each other. They sell condoms in the PX which means that the command knows that there is sex going on, so why make it illegal. I guess the condoms are only for the married couples that are deployed together.

No porn. Yes, that is right; we are not allowed to have pornography. Hah. This is a joke. The ever so efficient customs douche bags in Kuwait and here go to great lengths to ensure that we do not bring porn FROM Iraq to the US. They make no attempt what so ever to ensure that it is not brought INTO Iraq FROM the US. So, let’s see, we cannot engage in sexual relations, and we cannot have porn to masturbate with either. So what, we cannot pleasure ourselves either? Give me a break. You are not going to expect that someone is going to be sent to a shithole country for a year and NOT have some sort of sexual outlet. Not going to happen, I do not care who you are.

Formations. Yes, we have massive battalion formations every month. Wow, what an opportunity for the enemy. Good thing that they cannot see inside the FOB. But wait, who cares? Randomness happens.

When someone gets killed or seriously injured, they shut down our internet and IP phones, yet almost everyone here as a cell phone that they either brought from home or, like me, bought here. I understand the reason for this, but really? We have ways of talking to family members anyway. Stop the nonsense. Don’t turn off our internet.

No hands in the pockets. Yes, that is right, they make these pants we wear with pockets that are angled so it feel completely natural to put your hands in your pockets. In the US I can understand it. In a combat zone? Who really gives a shit?

Mandatory Safety Stand Down Day - Wooo hooo! Wow, so apparently there are some stupid ass motherfuckers who do not know how to do the right thing and they get themselves hurt. So they teach us nifty things like how to put on a seat belt, how to do proper EOF, how to use a variety of weapons (yeah, the ones that us Infantry guys use EVERY FREAKING DAY!). How to avoid becoming a heat casualty. DRINK WATER SUPID ASS! LAY OFF THE SODA'S!. Oh yeah, AND LET US UNBLOUSE OUR BOOTS AND CUFF OUR SLEEVES!

Urinalysis tests. That is right folks, we now have to take the beloved piss test. I guess there is such a HUGE drug problem here that they now have to test everyone, a few times a year! The piss test is so much fun. You get a small plastic bottle, get to carry it OVER YOUR HEAD so that everyone can see that you get to piss in a bottle, have an NCO follow you to the local port-a-john, and he gets to watch you pee. And by watch, I mean he stares at your dick while you pee. While most men have no issues with this, I do. I am gun shy. I have to use the stall in a public restroom to piss if someone else is in the bathroom, so imagine how much fun it is for me to spend two to four hours drinking a shit load of water and gatorade so I have to piss no matter if Mother Theresa was watching. Then of course I spend the rest of the day and evening pissing every 20 minutes, and I have a constant feeling that I have to pee all day as well. Good times for sure.

Well , I can go on and on but I think that you get the picture. Stop the stupidity and let us just do our job.

Operation Exercise in Futility has ended

2009-06-05T00:00:00-04:00

So, we finally wrapped up an operation to clear insurgents from a part of the city. This part of the city is the worst part. We literally went house to house in an area that is about 1 kilometer square and has a population of about 100,000, searched each and every house and business to see if they had anything they were not supposed to. They are allowed one AK-47 assault rifle with one magazine. No other weapons unless they are in the army or police. We nabbed a few bad guys in the operation.
Of course, this is the third time that this has been done in about two years. The previous operations obviously did not work since this is the third time we have done this. Still, I guess if we do this enough times they will figure it out and move on or move out.
The area that we were in is starting to heat up we understand. For the first six months that we were there it was very quiet. Nothing bad happening. But recently we have read about an increase in attacks in this area. So maybe what we are doing did work. They left Mosul and moved on to Kirkuk. Good times!

Back to Work After Vacation

2009-05-31T10:23:23-04:00

So I have been back a couple of weeks now. I have been moved from a driver to a dismounted team leader which is great. I get to go out and walk around the city now and actually get to do my job. We still work in the west side of the city and it is very interesting. You get to meet a lot of interetsting people and we also get a chance to work with the National Police. They are pretty good guys to work with. We let them lead the operations while we sit back and support them.
We only have a couple months left here which is great. Soon I will be back home and I will be getting married in September in Vegas, then we go back to the Philippines and get married again so her family can see it.

Vacation Time

2009-05-15T08:14:00-04:00

So for the last couple of weeks I have been on vacation. Once I picked up my daughter, we headed to Disneyland the next day and had a great time. This was her first time there and my first time in over 15 years. Lots of fun.
We then did some rock climbing with my mom and brother. More fun. Nothing like scaling a rock to help relax. Then, we went to the Rennisance fair. More good times. Dressing up in period costumes and watching the shows and the people.
All in all it was a good time

Home at last

2009-05-04T04:35:01-04:00

So I arrived in the US today. I am currently in Albq, NM. visiting a friend. Tomorrow I head out to California and visit family and friends there. It was a very long journey but well worth it. On the flight from Dallas to Colorado Springs, we were able to get free upgrades into first class. That was so cool.

Vacation Time

2009-05-01T18:29:59-04:00

Today I am on my way for my two weeks R&R. It is going to be a busy time. Fly to Colorado, pick up my truck, buy new tires for it, drive to California, fly my daughter down, do Disneyland, Sea World, Renisance Fair, rock climbing, they send her home, fly to the Philippines to be with my fiancee for a few days, then back to California, then drive back to Colorado, then fly back to Iraq for a couple more months until we go home for good. Still, I am going to have a great time.

Back to work

2009-04-22T10:00:52-04:00

So a few days ago we went back to work. Essentially we are doing the same mission that we were supposed to do on April 10th. Cannot say what it is but it is much more exciting than what we were doing. The first day out we were a bit jittery, but once we got out in sector and on the ground we fell right back into our infantry groove. I go on leave in nine days. I am so happy.

Tribute to our fallen heroes, and closuer

2009-04-14T17:48:57-04:00

Today we paid a final tribute to our fallen heroes. We had a two hour ceremony for these fine men. I read Psalm 23, and several people went up and read remarks about these men. It was a very emotionally trying experience today but we got through it and now we have closure, and most importantly, we can continue our daily missions now, just the way they wanted to.

I hurt, I cry, I feel

2009-04-11T17:44:00-04:00

April 10th, 2009. A day I want to forget but I know I never will. On this day my platoon lost five brave, heroic men I have ever known. We were on our first day of doing a recon mission of our new AO to help a unit from 1st Cavalry division to clear some areas of Mosul of insurgents. As we were getting ready to head onto the MSR, a dump truck breached our convoy and exploded with over 10,000 lbs of explosives, catastrophically destroying my MRAP. This is the one I normally drive, but since my squad leader went on leave just three days prior, I took over the squad and moved into the commanders seat of his truck. Men who I had spent the last year working, living and playing with were taken away from us in literaly seconds. The pain, sadness and anger I feel are completely undescribable. I cannot help but thinking that I was merely three days away from dying. I have been introduced to my own mortality and the fact that I am still alive is again a testament that God is watching over me.
Today we sent them home on the plane. I hope that my brothers in arms are in a better place and that they are looking down upon us as we do what we can to catch the sub-humans who are responsible for this.
Soon we will have the memorial service for these men. We are not looking forward to this at all. This will be the hardest day of our lives.
Most importantly, I also want to say that my heart and prayers go out to the families of these fine men. I know that they are experiencing a pain that I will probably never know.
Brian, Gary, Jason, Bryce, Eddy, I love you guys, you will be missed by so many.

Walking in time

2009-04-10T05:52:20-04:00

So yesterday we did a leaders recon of our new area that my platoon will be operating in. As we walked through part of the city I noticed pipes that protruded from each home. As we walked, I noticed that water would shoot out of those, into the street, and into mini canals in the middle of the road. I realized that this is their sewage system. As we walked, we could see that dish water, bath water and of course toilet water came out of these and flowed through the narrow streets, and down to larger streets that had larger and deeper canals, and finally into the ground. I was reminded of my history readings when the Romans did something similar. Considering that Iraq is the most

conquered country in the middle east, it is no wonder that you see influences from many other cultures and countries. I will try to take some photos next time I am on the ground.

So it has come to this

2009-04-02T09:21:01-04:00

So, we have been here for about eight months now and we are bored and getting burned out. Since there are no people here to shoot at, we have decided that we should help with the extraordinarily large wild dog population here in Iraq. Iraqi's do not keep dogs as pets. They do use them to help heard sheep, but otherwise they roam around the country breeding like there is no tomorrow. So when we do night patrols, we head out to the remote areas where there are no people and shoot the dogs. At first I was disgusted by this behavior as I am a dog lover. However, now I really do not give a shit. I shoot them too. Of course I would never do this at home, but here I really do not even care.
A couple days ago, we had a dump truck with 6000 lbs of explosives go off on an IA checkpoint. Of course anything withing 100 meters of it was pretty much toast. So now we have this to deal with. And of course anyone who has been here for any amount of time knows that there are hundreds of dump trucks in the cities. Normally, when we drive near one of these our asshole would pucker a bit and you grip the steering wheel of the vehicle a bit harder, and kind of cringe as you drive by. Now though, again I do not care. I do not even feel that pang of excitement anymore. I have resigned myself to the fact that I am already dead, so what does it matter? I am dead. It really helps to have this frame of mind when going out. I am no longer scared, I just do my job and come back to the FOB.
In one month I go on leave and I really am looking forward to this. A few days of rock climbing, riding my ATV and taking my daughter to Disneyland, Sea World and some other places is just what I need to get my head right again. And the best part is that when I return at the end of May, I have about two months in country, then off to Kuwait where I hang out there for a bit waiting my turn to return home. Sweet!

New Award

2009-03-21T14:06:21-04:00

So for the Great Teapot Incident of 2009, I was awarded the Combat Infantrymans Badge. This is titled Our Second IED. I uploaded the certificate.

blog has been slow

2009-03-16T16:43:00-04:00

So I know that the blog has been slow lately, but really not much has happened. We are starting to help the people of Mosul rebuild their city a bit. We go out and meet with the city leadership and Iraqi contractors. We ensure that they have the right contractors for some of the projects we identified, things like garbage pickup, street clean up , raising all the power lines that our trucks seem to tear down every time we drive through the villages. I did add some new pictures to the Mosul category though. Some pictures of the grand mosque and pictures of the city to give you an idea how large of an area we have to cover. And it is not just my company covering it. We have an entire brigade out here to work the city. Recently we had an IED go off on some dismounted engineers. Fortunately no one was killed though. A couple guys ended up going to Germany to get worked on, but no one died.
So we are almost done with the deployment. I go home on R&R in May, then when I get back we have about a month and a half left until we start heading home. We are all looking forward to it. Although we have been here a while, the time has gone by fast. I have also taken a video of the city that I uploaded onto You Tube. Also, when I was climbing down from the wall, there was an IA soldier listening to music on his cell phone. I told him to dance to it, and I shot that video as well. Pretty funny actually. I will include links when the vids upload.

Mosul, Part I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A36E0bX0kOc

Mosul, Part II
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXFGLUxE3GY

Dancing Iraqi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ho7RiWTE0k

Our second IED

2009-02-20T14:25:34-04:00

So today we went on what was supposed to be a normal run of the mill patrol. When we went out the gate, I had a very bad feeling that something was going to happen, and it did. Apparently, some Iraqi with very large balls threw a tea kettle at my truck that was full of explosives. Fortunately he was a bad aim and rather than land on the top of the truck, it went over and landed on the other side and exploded. No one was hurt but it was very loud. And one water jug was pierced by shrapnel. So in three deployments, I have been shot at by an AK-47, two mortars, two rockets, an RPG and now an IED. And every time I should have been hurt or killed, but I escaped unharmed. God is surely on my side.

Random Mosul pics. more to follow

2009-02-19T14:08:21-04:00

Some pictures of our area.

Sad Day for the Battallion

2009-02-06T08:13:06-04:00

Today we honored a fallen soldier who unfortunately passed away from a non-combat related accident. As I sat there today, I wondered how many more of these we will have to sit through in our remaining six months here. We have been blessed in that we were in a relatively safe area for the first half of our deployment, performing good will missions and getting to know the Iraqi people and their cultures and customs. However, with our move to Mosul, this is no longer the case. We now have to put on our serious game faces and face the enemy in what is becoming their last stand, their final frontier. We are well trained and we are ready for this challenge. I only hope and pray this this was the first and last memorial we have to attend.

Back To Work, and BEER!

2009-02-01T00:00:00-04:00

So, we are finally going back out on patrols. It was very nice getting out of the FOB and back into the city. Mosul is a very large city, I think the second or third largest in the country. We had the elections and they went smoothly, even here. Yeah they cordoned off most of the city to keep car bombs out and only allowed foot traffic, but if that is what it takes to have a peaceful election, then so be it. It is better than the alternative. We met our Iraqi Army counterparts and I am really looking forward to working with these guys. They seem like they have their act together, as does most of the IA in the country.
And we got to have two real beers for the Superbowl as well. I had a Heiniken and a Coors Light. Man that tasted so good. I wanted to watch the game but I was getting tired by 2:00 AM.

A day in the life

2009-01-29T08:04:30-04:00

So, people keep asking me 'Bruce, what do you do all day anyway'? So, here is our life right now. And understand that we have not done missions in about three weeks now.
Wake up
Run
Shower
Dress
Eat breakfast or go to Java Hut and get coffee
Study math and read book for on-line classes I am taking
Eat lunch
Come back to room, watch movie or more studying
Chat with girlfriend
Watch another movie
Go to bed

So that is pretty much it. Soon though we will be back on our mission cycle and we will be much busier.

Moved yet again

2009-01-25T12:00:00-04:00

So we have moved yet again. Third base in four months. We are now in Mosul Iraq, at FOB Marez. It is a sprawling complex but everything we need is less than a mile walk from our chus. This fob is a bit more dirty than the others because all the roads are dirt, but that is OK, it is not as bad as other FOBS. I can't wait till we start our mission cycle back up. It will make the time go by so much faster. Things should be heating up for us here so I will keep everyone posted with info.

First Mission in Two Weeks

2009-01-12T14:21:23-04:00

So we finally got to go out on our first mission in our new AO. I got to finally see downtown Kirkuk for the first time, and I was very impressed/shocked. It is a lot more modern than I though. There was a huge section that was nothing but car lots, a couple of cement plants that were very modern, new apartments, gyms, hardware stores, grocery stores, gas stations. Things we never saw in the smaller farming communities. I am really looking forward to seeing more of this city. And next time I won't forget my camera.

PB Howell is no more

2009-01-03T00:00:00-04:00

So we were told about three weeks ago that we were going to close our patrol base and turn the train station back over to the Iraqi's. Yesterday we did just that. We tore down all of our living areas, removed our shower/latrine and removed all of the stuff that belongs to us as well as removed the barriers that closed the tracks. We had a small ceremony and then we pulled out and moved to FOB Warrior. Warrior is an Air Force base located in Kirkuk. It is a huge sprawling base that has all the amenities - PX, laundry, fast food (Burger King, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Green Bean Coffee) as well as state of the art gyms. We are now in two man rooms that are very nice. We will soon have our own internet in each room and AFN tv. We like the place a lot more than Howell.