Camp Taji, Iraq  
29 JUL 07
It has been over a month since the last installment and as you can probably imagine, it has been a non-stop rollercoaster ever since.  Currently I am writing from an Army/Air Force base on the north side of Baghdad called Camp Taji.  This place is one of the many Forward Operating Bases (aka “FOBs”) here in Iraq and for the most part, they are nothing more than old Iraqi Army bases that were bombed back to the stone, then rebuilt to suit our military’s needs. Over the past eight days I have driven to and stayed the night at almost every major FOB in Iraq. Exhausted would
be an understatement- it takes a determined effort even to build up the motivation to move my fingers over the keyboard on my laptop.  Simply put, my men and I are dirty, dehydrated, and beat tired.  However, and as strange as it may sounds, week-plus-long missions like this are actually a good thing considering that our sporadic schedules have an innate way of making the time here in the desert fly
 
by. I can’t believe it but it has been over a month since we arrived here!
A lot has happen in our first month, however, and unfortunately, not all of it has been positive.  As mentioned in the previous blog, our primary threat is known as Improvised Explosive Devices (i.e. roadside bombs).  In spite of our continual efforts to quell these types of attacks, we are being hit pretty consistently every week or so.  The worst flavor of IED is known as an EFP, or Explosively Formed Projectile, which seems to act like kryptonite against the toughest of our vehicle’s armor.  These little bad boys consist of 2-inch thick copper plates about the size of a dinner plate, which are custom fitted to the open end of reinforced metal piping
 
packed full of C4 explosive. When detonated, the copper heats up to 600+ degrees and takes the shape of a spear or icicle while flying through the air.  While our space-age armor can withstand the blast of hundred-pound bombs, these EFPs are cutting through our trucks like butter.  I saw these results first hand the other day and was amazed how the same stuff pennies are made out of was able to make a perfectly round hole the size of a soda can in the side of a humvee. The good thing about this type of IED, however (remember that finding the silver lining in any situation maintains a soldier’s sanity), is that small projectilescan only damage what they come in contact with, whereas a large-scale explosion affects everything in its general vicinity. Well now that the opening action sequence /attention-getter to this blog has been established, allow me to subside any concerns by mentioning some of our counter-tactics.  Strategy and planning has been a big part of my duties here in Iraq and is just part of the territory of being a sergeant and convoy commander (convoy=large group of vehicles traveling together to the same destination).
To make a long and complicated story short, I am one of a dozen or so guys put in charge of these missions and ultimately responsible for whatever happens out on the road.  We receive a mission from the higher-ups, assemble a crew of roughly four gun trucks and fifteen men, use current intelligence to come up with a plan of attack, and then go out and get the damn thing done.  We are out on the road day in and day out and for this reason alone, we have gotten to learn these routes like the back of our hands. It’s impossible to tell where and when the next IED or ambush is going to be, but not too different than police work we are able to use patterns and trends to make predictions as well as implement preventative measures and tactics.  (And yes, all that military jargon is how we write and talk in these parts –pretty goofy, huh?)  For example, we will vary the time of day we travel on the roads as well as the speed at which we cross certain areas.And if that sounds too rudimentary
for the world’s biggest super power, rest assured that we have a whole slew of high-tech toys and inventions that do a great job our keeping our enemies at bay.  For obvious reasons, I am not really at liberty to discuss them here; a secret weapon doesn’t work that well once it is no longer a secret, roger?  On the whole, I can tell you that a little common sense mixed with steadfast attention to detail is the perfect
combination for beating this type of threat. To date the two trucks that have suffered EFPs sustained non-life threatening injuries and will return to normal duty shortly. 
That being said, our first and biggest wake up call came just a few weeks ago when we took our first KIA.  I didn’t know the soldier personally and we have come to learn that it was not the result of hostile action but rather from a traffic accident on one of our routes.  As stupid as it may sound, we are forced to share the roads with all sorts of different Iraqi and Third-Country-National civilians.In this particular instance it sounds like one of our gun trucks swerved around an Iraqi vehicle at a dangerous speed, lost
 
control, and rolled over. Roll overs rarely occur considering weight and extra-wide suspension of the humvees and when they do, it can be a very serious matter.  Similar to high school kids hanging out of limo sun roofs on the way to prom, our gunners are forced to expose the top parts of their bodies in order to keep an eye out for suspicious activity. And while the turrets (the hole in the top of the roof) are
enclosed by thick plates of armor on all four sides, the only thing keeping a gunner in the truck most of the time is gravity. Unfortunately for the poor kid in the
 
accident,when the humvee rolled over the entire weight of the gun truck all came down on the turret.  I was leading a different convoy just a few minutes behind the one that suffered the accident and we were one of the first on-scene.  One thing I’ll never forget was the driver and good friend to the deceased gunner sitting on the side of the road with his head in his hands.  Someone gave him a cigarette, not much else can be done at
that point. Out of the three men in the truck, the driver and passenger/truck commander received only minor injuries.  Once the area was secured and MEDEVAC was called, we attempted to start clearing all the vehicles off the objective. Keep in mind that while this convoy’s fellow gun trucks were doing everything they could to react to the situation, the fifty some 18-wheelers they were
escorting were strewn about all over a major freeway and supply route.  One of the hardest things for any leader to keep in mind in this war is that the longer you stay in one place, the more danger you and your fellow soldiers are in.  We stayed on
the scene long enough for my medic to render the needed assistance and to make sure that no civilian or military traffic would disturb the area.  An hour of radio chatter went by with our headquarters and supporting units and at the end of it all, it was determined that my three gun trucks would be responsible for escorting both of the convoys back to the safety of the Kuwaiti
 
border. Totaling over ninety 18-wheeler supply trucks with only four functional humvees, amazingly we made the push back without any further problems.  Once over the border, it seemed as though the worst was over for the evening.  We were just about to head home for the night when  I realized that the one gun truck’s crew from the downed convoy wasn’t aware of the severity of the situation.  A young gunner from the crew asked me, “Hey Sergeant, so was everything cool back there?  Our radios went out so we weren’t able to hear what was happening.”  It turns out they were the scout vehicle for that convoy and were almost 2 miles up the road from where the accident had happened.  My guys and I got very quite and looked at the ground after hearing the question.  Explaining that his buddy didn’t make it something I hope never to have to do again for as long as I live.

 But for every hard place one may find themselves in over here, Ive learned that it’s important to remember that there are an equal if not overwhelming amount of positive things happening here every single day.  Shoot, every time we return from “running the gauntlet” of Iraq’s most dangerous roads, I would be lying not to admit that I just felt happy to still have all my fingers and toes. Never again will I
complain about sitting in LA traffic; at least the dreaded 10 West isn’t peppered with IED-filled pot holes, trip wires, pressure plates, drive-by shooters, or car bombs.  Speaking of changed perspectives, our recent return from Baghdad and surrounding areas makes our shorter routes look like a walk in the park.  As mentioned before, our time here is divided between short “pushes”  to southern Iraq, and long ones to pretty much the opposite side of the country.  The mission I just returned from involved my boys and I providing security for a large convoy of Air Force personnel to a base north of Baghdad and near Takrit called LSA ANACONDA. Besides the fact that we had no other choice than to roll directly through the middle of downtown Baghdad, this
 
mission was particularly interesting simply because it was the first time in my military career that I have worked side by side with females.And let me tell ya, these chicks were ass-kickin!  One of the USAF’s missions here in country is to drive up-armored semi trucks in order to transport their super top secret technologies and equipment.  Now while I realize that females are still forbidden to participate in combat related occupations in the military, these ladies are out on the road and exposed just a much as we are.  I think the misconception-breaker for me occurred when one of my gun trucks sprung an oil leak in the middle of an all-night
 
mission. While us tough Army guys all stood around and preformed the male ritualistic “let’s talk about fixing it for 30 minutes,” a female truck drivers no bigger than      90 lbs. seemed to dive head first beneath the hood and emerged on the underside of the truck having fixed the problem.  Fatigues tattered with elbow-high grease stains, she politely asked us, “is that all you got?”  Now where am I going to find a girl like that Mom?  But all grade school crushes aside, the trip through Baghdad was unlike anything I could have ever imagined.  Just passing through the city requires that you coordinate your route
and check the latest intelwith 5 different “Sheriffs.”  These guys are responsible for exactly what their name entails, supporting and policing a small piece of the utter chaos ad confusion which is Baghdad.  I cant even use words to describe how much thought, planning, and preparation we have invested in that city.  Granted we still seem to be pretty vulnerable to basic insurgency tactics such as roadside bombs, for our military to make so many moving parts work together in a war-ridden ghetto like Baghdad is nothing short of an absolute miracle.  Weaving in and out of piles of rubble, mangled balls of barbed wire, and craters in the road the size of a pool table kept my adrenaline level well above the “scared stupid” marker.  And none of this is helped by the fact that shady and suspicious characters hide behind any and every dark corner in sight.  Oh yeah, and while driving like you life depended on it (no pun intended), be sure not to hit one of the eight million stray dogs that like to cut in front of your truck when you least expect. And don’t worry Emma, I throw as much
left over chow to the puppies as I do to the beggars and vagabonds.  All told, we made the push through Baghdad twice throughout the eight days and both of them were fortunate enough to have the cover of a moonless night.  We did, however, get lost both times while attempting to bypass Baghdad International Airport and let me tell ya, it’s not like you can pull over and ask someone for directions.  One of the best road signs I think I saw was an M1 Abrams tank poised in the very most middle part of an exploded bridge.  “Welp…I don’t think we should go that way,” echoed over the radios.  Most importantly, we made the long push north without any major incidents and it was a hell of an experience to boot.

I’m slated to be security commander for another trip heading even further north in the coming days and I have no doubt that there will be no shortage of “interesting” situations and observations to report. 

Until that days, this is now Staff Sgt Haus….out