My Misadventure (Monday 30 October 2006)

I'm posting this from the Palace (in the IZ). I'm trying not to have a heart attack. Maybe if we can find the humor in this situation, I'll be alright. In this country, if you make a mistake, you pay dearly. Here's the explanation of my dilemma in an e-mail I just sent to my Sergeant Major.


From awe
Sent Monday, October 30, 2006 4:34 pm
To CSM RL
Cc
Bcc
Subject My Whereabouts

Hey Sergeant Major:

Is anybody looking for me? I'm not in Rustamiyah as planned. I was walking back to my hooch this morning to pack a bag for Rustamiyah (just in case) when I heard choppers coming in. Mr. Short said to be on station an hour ahead of time so I thought, Oh (deleted expletive), I'm a little behind and they're here already! I ran into my hooch, put my shaving kit in my bag, put on my body armor and kevlar and ran out to the helipad. The last guy was getting on the first bird and the crew chief waved me to the next bird. That crew chief was motioning for me to hurry; so I ran. I jumped aboard and the chopper lifted off before I could get my seat belt fastened (almost). I looked around and did not see anybody I knew. I asked the guy next to me where they were going and he said, "Liberty".

Yep..I got on the wrong flight. Not to worry...I'll just fly from Liberty to Rustamiyah. But, there is only one flight a day from Liberty to Rusty and it left twenty minutes before I landed. So, I hopped over to Washington for a 1440 flight to Rusty, with one stop at Mahmudia. I was waiting on the flight line at Washington when the crew chief tells me that I can't get on because they are full. I looked in the bird and there were about four empty seats. He just shook his head and showed me a manifest for the stop at Mahmudia. They were already overbooked with passengers at Mahmudia going to Rusty. So, I got bumped. That's why I'm writing you from the IZ.

I'm about to walk over to 10th CASH because my blood pressure is about out of control. Would you please find Mr. Short and tell him he's fired. There was no reason for him to fail to mention there was another flight in the same hour time window as the one to Rusty. Now I'm stuck, away from my job for three days that I can't afford. On second thought, don't say anything to Mr. Short. I'm the one that screwed up. How could I have done something so stupid? And they want to promote me to 06? I'm already doing the kind of stupid (expletive deleted) generals do. Anyway, I'll try to keep you posted on my whereabouts.

LTC E

Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

I have been putting off many of my opinions about the so called "War" in Iraq. I say "so called" because I do not believe we are at war; at least not in Iraq. Yes, we're engaged in something very deadly, but the actual "war" ended in the spring of 2003, when the armed forces of American and her allies defeated the remains of the Iraqi Army. I won't split hairs over semantics now, I'll save that for the War College, because I know it would just bore you.

Nonetheless, I read something today that is right on target. And, since it is the season for electing new politicians in America, perhaps it will be a counter balance to some of the garbage you've been fed lately on the TV and radio and in the newspapers. PLEASE TAKE TIME TO READ IT. Pretty good stuff, not from the mind of a top General, but from the pen of a young enlisted Soldier. I think he's been drinking from the AWE well of discontent.

awe

Best of the Web Today - October 25, 2006
By JAMES TARANTO
A View From Iraq Our item yesterday in which we reaffirmed our support for the liberation of Iraq brought some very interesting reader comments. This is from an American there who asks not to be named:

There's been a lot of discussion back home about the course of the war, the righteousness of our involvement, the clarity of our execution, and what to do about the predicament in which we currently find ourselves. I just wanted to send you my firsthand account of what's happening here.

First, a little bit about me: I'm stationed slightly northwest of Baghdad in a mixed Sunni/Shia area. I'm a sergeant in the U.S. Army on a human intelligence collection team. I interact with Iraqis on a daily basis and I help put together the intel picture for our area of operations. I have contacts with friends, who are also in my job, in every are of operations in the Fourth Infantry Division footprint, and through our crosstalk I'd say I have a pretty damn good idea of what's going on in and around Baghdad on a micro and intermediary level.

I wrote heavily in favor of this war before I enlisted myself, and I still maintain that going into Iraq was not only the necessary thing to do, but the right thing to do as well.

There have been distinct failures of policy in Iraq. The vast majority of them fall under the category "failure to adapt." Basically U.S. policies have been several steps behind the changing conditions ever since we came into the country. I believe this is (in part) due to our plainly obvious desire to extricate ourselves from Iraq. I know President Bush is preaching "stay the course," but we came over here with a goal of handing over our battlespace to the Iraqis by the end of our tour here.

This breakneck pace with which we're trying to push the responsibility for governing and securing Iraq is irresponsible and suicidal. It's like throwing a brick on a house of cards and hoping it holds up. The Iraqi Security Forces (ISF)--a joint term referring to Iraqi army and Iraqi police--are so rife with corruption, insurgent sympathies and Shia militia members that they have zero effectiveness. Two Iraqi police brigades in Baghdad have been disbanded recently, and the general sentiment in our field is "Why stop there?" I can't tell you how many roadside bombs have been detonated against American forces within sight of ISF checkpoints. Faith in the Iraqi army is only slightly more justified than faith in the police--but even there, the problems of tribal loyalties, desertion, insufficient training, low morale and a failure to properly indoctrinate their soldiers results in a substandard, ineffective military. A lot of the problems are directly related to Arab culture, which traditionally doesn't see nepotism and graft as serious sins. Changing that is going to require a lot more than "benchmarks."

In Shia areas, the militias hold the real control of the city. They have infiltrated, co-opted or intimidated into submission the local police. They are expanding their territories, restricting freedom of movement for Sunnis, forcing mass migrations, spiking ethnic tensions, not to mention the murderous checkpoints, all while U.S. forces do . . . nothing.

For the first six months I was in country, sectarian violence was classified as an "Iraqi on Iraqi" crime. Division didn't want to hear about it. And, in a sense I can understand why. Because division realized that which the Iraqi people have come to realize: The American forces cannot protect them. We are too few in number and our mission is "stability and support." The problem is that there's nothing to give stability and support to. We hollowed out the Baathist regime, and we hastily set up this provisional government, thrusting political responsibility on a host of unknowns, each with his own political agenda, most funded by Iran, and we're seeing the results.
In Germany after World War II, we controlled our sector with approximately 500,000 troops, directly administering the area for 10 years while we rebuilt the country and rebuilt the social and political infrastructure needed to run it. In Iraq, we've got one-third that number of troops dealing with three times the population on a much faster timetable, and we're attempting to unify three distinct ethnic groups with no national interest and at least three outside influences (Saudi Arabian Wahhabists, Iranian mullahs and Syrian Baathists) each eagerly funding various groups in an attempt to see us fail. And we are.

If we continue on as is in Iraq, we will leave here (sooner or later) with a fractured state, a Rwanda-waiting-to-happen. "Stay the course" and refusing to admit that we're screwing things up is already killing a lot of people needlessly. Following through with such inane nonstrategy is going to be the death knell for hundreds of thousands of Sunnis.

We need to backtrack. We need to publicly admit we're backtracking. This is the opening battle of the ideological struggle of the 21st century. We cannot afford to lose it because of political inconveniences. Reassert direct administration, put 400,000 to 500,000 American troops on the ground, disband most of the current Iraqi police and retrain and reindoctrinate the Iraqi army until it becomes a military that's fighting for a nation, not simply some sect or faction. Reassure the Iraqi people that we're going to provide them security and then follow through. Disarm the nation: Sunnis, Shias, militia groups, everyone. Issue national ID cards to everyone and control the movement of the population.

If these three things are done, you can actually start the Iraqi economy again. Once people have a sense of security, they'll be able to leave their houses to go to work. Tell your American commanders that it's OK to pass up bad news--because part of the problem is that these issues are not reaching above the battalion or brigade level due to the can-do, make-it-happen culture indoctrinated into our U.S. officers. While the attitude is admirable, it also creates barriers to recognizing and dealing with on-the-ground realities.

James, there's a lot more to this than I've written here. The short of it is, the situation is salvageable, but not with "stay the course" and certainly not with cut and run. However, the commitment required to save it is something I doubt the American public is willing to swallow. I just don't see the current administration with the political capital remaining in order to properly motivate and convince the American public (or the West in general) of the necessity of these actions.

At the same time, failure in Iraq would be worse than a dozen Somalias, and would render us as impotent and emasculated as we were in the days after Vietnam. There is a global cultural-ideological struggle being waged, and abdication from Iraq is tantamount to concession.

VIPs

We've had a pretty exciting couple of weeks around here. I think I've given briefings to half the staff generals in the coalition and several Iraqi generals willing to make the trip out of Baghdad. All's well and everybody is quite happy to leave us to our work here in the desert. Actually, they're quite happy just to leave us in the desert. This is a picture of me with my friend, the Italian General Angenelli. The other guy is his flunky captain (aide de camp) from Portugal. Actually, he's a very sharp cookie.

Later in the week, I had a bunch of guys from NATO come up and spend a couple of days with me here at Besmaya. NATO has the mission to run the Iraqi military academies. They had a good time listening to me tell them how to do their business. As a matter of fact, they even invited me down to Rustamiyah so I could explain to the rest of the Euro trash what's what. I have some good pictures of that trip that I'll share in my next blog entry, so stay tuned.

I also learned this week that I've been selected for 0-6 (Colonel). I guess I've fooled them once again. Remember, this is the Army, it ain't NASA. The problem is, I can't pin on Eagles until I find a Colonel billet (job). So...I might be retired before they actually promote me. Nonetheless, it's a real honor to be a first time select. The board considered 3559 Lieutenant Colonels and selected 633, or about 18%. Somewhere in the mountains of North Georgia is a graveyard that is the eternal resting place of a former Dean of North Georgia College. That guy's rolling over in his grave about now.

Letters Home

In the age of e-mail (and BLOGs), letters from home, though not as frequent, are essential to good morale. Let me tell you, one letter from home is worth 10,000 e-mails. Soldiers here may go two or three days without checking their e-mail but they’ll stay up half the night waiting on the 2 a.m. Blackhawk that brings our mail once or twice a month. When that bird touches down and they haul in our mail bags, it’s like Christmas. And, like men with dreadful insecurity problems, everybody compares how much mail and how many packages they receive to everybody else’s stack.

Well, the other day, I received a large package from some folks I had never heard of. The box was intended for another Soldier but he had returned to the states some months ago. So, the senders re-directed the box to me. Isn’t America great? Finally, I had a package bigger than everybody else’s! And I let em’ know it too.

The most inspiring part of the story is that the package was sent to a total stranger (me) by some great Americans in Jonesboro, Georgia. Hey, I know Jonesboro. But even more inspiring was that it contained notes and letters from people in Morrow, Georgia, the place where I grew up. Now what are the chances of that happening? I was so moved that I sat down and wrote these letters….home:

Dear Ms. Justice,
I wanted to let you know that I received the box of goods you sent to me. Thank you so much for caring enough to take the time (and expense) to direct sunshine from America to this ole boy in this bitter land. Thank God for patriots like you who have not forgotten how to give of themselves for others, even a stranger.

What a delight it was to open that big box and unload all those good gifts. I know it was meant for another Soldier, but God does not make mistakes and I’m thankful it found its way to me. I have further distributed the items to our Soldiers and to some very appreciative Iraqis. My Iraqi guards and interpreters are very grateful to America and they pray that we never leave! (I’m trying to teach them another prayer). They dread the day we depart. But most of the items are going to our guys…..

Please pass my “thank you” to Ms. White and to Ms. Brooks. Also, please thank everyone else who contributed. May God continue to bless you and the greatest nation in the world with people like you.



Dear Ms. White,
I am writing you from Besmaya, Iraq, to let you know that I recently received a large box of care goods from a Ms. Justice of Jonesboro. Among the contents was a note you had written to a Soldier back in February of this year. Your note indicated it was Sunday, and you were getting ready to leave for Sunday School. Well, somehow that note made it to my desk here in the middle of the desert. Although not intended for me, God used it to touch my heart and it gave me such a wonderful blessing. I just thought you should know.
Perhaps the blessing came from knowing that the note was written by a total stranger (I don’t think I know you) who lives in my home town. I grew up in Morrow, went to Morrow High School and was married in the First Baptist Church in Morrow. I have always been so proud to say, “I’m from Morrow, Georgia”, and folks like you are why I’m so proud.

But, on further reflection, I think I was so touched by your note because my imagination transported me to your kitchen, where I assumed you had sat at your breakfast table that morning for a little quiet and meditation. I imagined you saying a little prayer as you wrote a few lines to someone, possibly in harms way, on the other side of the world. Well, on his behalf, thank you. And, since I’m the one who benefited from your kindness, I want to thank you also.

May God bless you and continue to bless our nation with people like you.

A

p.s. If you know Ms. Brooks, please tell her that her note was also received, with appreciation from this stranger.

Ramadan

My friends here are about ten days into Ramadan. They are so devout and sweet about their fasting, never making a big deal of it. As a matter of fact, they are practicing Matthew 6: 16-18 and they don’t even know it. I feel ashamed of myself sometimes when I think about my life, my beautiful home and how I have every blessing available to man, more than I deserve, and yet some days I don’t even slow down long enough to count those blessing and talk to the living God who also lives in me, much less set aside more than a month of days to focus on Him, fast and pray.

What would happen if Christians in America decided to have a Ramadan. Think about it, a whole month of fasting and praying (to a risen Savior, something my friends here do not have). Not just a few Christians, but everybody, Catholic, Protestant, everybody. A song comes to mind, “What if His People Prayed” (by Casting Crowns). If My people called by My name would humble themselves and pray…..
Well, that would really be something.

Ramadan is a big concern for us because we start another class in a few days and our training is hard, hot and long. These guys won’t drink anything during daylight hours. We will try to train as much as we can on a reverse cycle but most of what we do must be done in the daylight. So, there will be the potential for heat casualties. Thankfully, the weather is changing and it is much cooler than the last cycle.

I know everyone is concerned about the news from Baghdad. It seems much worse than it is. I don’t want to minimize the loss of a single life, but the truth is, things are much the same as they have been. Please be aware that the media knows the time of the year (in America) and that has a lot to do with how things get reported/represented. As for us, we are very content here at Besmaya but we are also vigilant to maintain our security and to practice force protection. Don’t worry.

I’ll send more in a few days, in the mean time, here’s a picture of our mess hall (the Babylon Café). Eat here and wonder why you don’t fast more.