enough arm chair quarterbacking...
from a dear mate of mine whom I am @#$ proud of
Over the past 7 months we have endured at times hell. We've tasted fear, experienced anxiety, felt the adrenaline rush under attack, and gave it out better to the enemy than he gave it to us. The Coalition wins every time, but we do not, nor will we ever have the support of the people. We are occupiers of their country. Mind you better on his shores than ours, and this war is a long way from ending, its still the beginning.
I have made the best of friends, some brothers by choice. I have lived life on the edge, and many times, we enjoyed ourselves, call it a big boys club if you wish. At times I've been bored, scared, and mostly we were all quite comfortable, however, it was not all easy. Some long days, but its all been worth it. I will miss those guys!
There is no winners in this war, the country is still in a nose dive, and I don't think in our lifetime, we'll see an improvement. Violence is in their culture. We cannot force our way of life on others who don't have a clue.
All the training over the years prepared me for this, and more or less, it was pretty much as I thought it would be. As for being brave, well I call it being stupid. Yes, at times I volunteered for things because I compelled to do so, yet later before a mission I questioned myself "****** are you nuts?", ha! In reality, if I did not volunteer, I would have problems living with myself. I hope that makes sense. For those that have been, you will understand.
We all reacted well under fire, and conducted ourselves accordingly. The Unit had been delibertly attacked, and we stood our ground. We had been rocketed, mortar'd, and been in the range of enemy machine gun fire. We were also ambushed and fought with the tenacity that we have earned the reputaion for. Sadly one time, we shot a US civilian, killing him instantly, that was out of our hands, but we had no choice. His vehicle was machinegunned as he refused to stop at our checkpoint, and fearing yet another suicide bomber, we acted within our rights to stop him. He was 58, from Texas. Another waste of a man's life.
The daily bombings, some so close, our buildings shook, while others rumbled in the distance with large mushroom clouds and secondary burn.
Anyways, enough of the doom and gloom. Its bloody good to be at home. All is well with ******. The house is great, the weather is great, and I cannot complain.
Although I have left Iraq, a small piece of me will always be there in my mind for as long as I am alive. Many faces, the locals we hired who were killed, the friends we made who have no hope of escaping (to name a few, Hiada, Ahmed, Ali, R'iad - who just had a baby boy, the Atta brothers, and of course Fil our translator and scheemer). The Coalition soldiers who became good friends, such as *****, *****, ***** and of course the men from the new RIP (Relief In Place), who now have to endure what we went thru. I wish them all well, and a safe tour like we had. I also cannot forget the traitors who befriended us, and then turned on us. I never did trust Mohammed and his lunitic fringe of diesel deliverers, (I thought he was a bent LEC long ago). I am sure he is dead now, as he was handed over the the Iraqi Forces.
Just remember how lucky you are if you do a late return on a video or DVD, miss a VISA payment or get a speeding ticket. These figures are for Baghdad alone. Remember for Baghdad, and are only from his time spent in country, give or take a week.
IED's (Road side bombs): 4,806
VBIED's (Vehicle bombs including suicide): 874
Orgainised attacks with rifles and misc weapons: 8,559
RPG attacks: 356; and
Indirect Fire Attacks (Rockets and Mortars): 2,224