Sour Swinger Predominantly follows my Army & Iraq Deployment. Also has some Geek, School, and other talk.

Now that we have a new home, things are starting to roll and roll fast. No more then 1 day of moving into my new barracks, I was plucked (along with 5 others) to leave Delta and join up with an active duty unit for EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) security. It was only temporary for me as I was filling in for another NCO who stayed back in Taji. He was finalizing some logistics to include collecting any left over mail. Which btw, we are still missing mail. ERRR!!!

I was excited to temporarily switch units for many reasons. For one, it seemed I would be running missions sooner then Delta. At the time we didn’t know when and what Delta would be doing or at least at my level we didn’t know for certain. Plus I would be going to an active duty unit. Supply issues would all but disappear and I would be working with the Big Red One. What infantryman wouldn’t? I’d be able to compare what its like to work with Guard members vs Active duty members.

Unfortunately I stayed with EOD for only a week, but in that time I learned a lot. For example, active army seemed to remedy bullcrap rather quickly. The E6 originally in charge of us was…well…had good intentions at heart but just fell through on execution. All us lower NCOs would try to steer him straight, but he never listened. Oh well, higher noticed and he was given the boot and a better E6 was brought in.

The biggest surprise was…not sure how to word this in non-military terms…being squared away. Knowing one’s sh*t enough to confidently accomplish a task. Though we were under the 1st ID, we were the only infantry. The rest of the EOD team comprised of admin, truck drivers, etc. Nothing against those guys, but I actually felt I was better prepared. I found myself literally saying…”Wow! The Guard actually trained me to a standard better then an active duty unit.” I always assumed active duty was like Bruce Lee and the guard was like Steven Seagal. One, a well disciplined and efficient fighting force, the other an imitation and big whopping fail! LoL.

Two things I really enjoyed with EOD was my elevated level of responsibility. I was in charge of a MRAP and had 4 guys under me. Previously, I only had 2 guys and was second in charge of a Stryker as its gunner. The other reason was my blog. Being under new command and (at the time) not knowing for how long I informed them of it. They didn’t give two hoots what I wrote so long as I didn’t violate Op Sec (Operational Security).

My departure from EOD didn’t go quite smoothly. EOD asked me if I would like to stay on board. I said hell yeah and this apparently caused a whole whirl wind of problems. As was explained to me from a certain individual, I caused a boat load of unnecessary leg work as both Delta and EOD were fighting to keep me. Despite what this individual said to me, I know I didn’t do anything wrong. Not like I was pleading with EOD to keep me. They asked once and I truthfully told them once. Everything else was out of my hands.

So now I sit back with Delta company which in hindsight turned out well (For another post). We all certainly miss the other 6 who left us. Though we pass them occasionally, we won’t see them back with us until the end of deployment. Stay safe you guys!

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After almost one month of sitting around, I finally saw Iraq first hand. Not from within the base or from within a helicopter but via a convoy. Our move from Camp Taji to Camp Liberty made this happen. With all our gear, equipment, and possessions packed we left the wire. Our hymen finally broke…sorta speak. Granted many soldiers here are already combat veterans; as a company it was a first.

In all my military experience, nothing ever goes right the first time. Thankfully, this was not the case and our convoy went perfect. Not one wrong turn. Not one communication problem. Not one IED going off or bullet being fired. We arrived just as we left with not one iota of surprise. Shove that one up yours Murphy! :D

Before departure, LT Price lead the company in a prayer and like usual I didn’t participate. It was nice not to be the only one this time. The newest soldier to our unit is a satanist. So now our company has two “heathens” an Atheist and a Satanist. Haha. He’s a good guy (IRR too) and also another computer junky like me. Correlation?

Anyway, we SPed (Starting Point) way ahead of schedule and proceeded into the streets of Iraq. Talk about a brain overload. As a M240 gunner, I had to keep a vigilant eye and it was hard as h***. My entire mind was trying to process a radically different environment at the same time its trying to process threats. Hard to pick out what’s out of place when you can’t even comprehend what is and isn’t normal. I’ve heard, read, and seen pictures of what Iraq is like but you certainly don’t get the full spectrum until you see it with the naked eye.

First thought…what a pile of crap! Almost as if Iraq is one giant trash can. The streets were just lined with tons of plastic, cans, metal shards, and piles of dirt. You can even smell the foulness in the air. Very distinct and unlike anything I’ve smelled before. The towns we passed were even worse. The people looked dirty, sad, worn, and…well poor. I’ve seen healthier looking (American) homeless people.

The “towns” were pretty darn tiny too. Maybe a few hundred people at best. Not exactly what I think of as a town. The shops and buildings we passed clearly showed the war and hostilities this country has gone through. Everything looked run down, broken, destroyed, and abandoned. American’s would probably classify everything as condemned buildings.

The next thing I noticed were all the check points. It seemed like every couple miles we drove through an IA (Iraqi Army) or IP (Iraqi Police) check point. I couldn’t believe it. How could any enemy even function with so much security? Which shows as Iraq has GREATLY improved since just a few years ago. Each IA/IP check point made sure traffic was clear and halted for us to pass on by. They seemed to have a positive regard towards us.

What really stood out and is considered a very good sign (for multiple reasons), was the children. Where ever we went, the kids came running out waving, smiling and jumping with glee. I felt like Santa Clause sitting atop of a fire truck. Just didn’t have the presents to throw out. Interestingly, children around 13/14 and older did not follow suite. They had a more hesitant nature and sometimes tried to keep the younger ones from running out to us.

Though this entire movement required little to no physical demand, I found myself tired at the end of it. To stay in that mental alertness, mixed with soaking in everything I just saw was quite draining. I feel confident that as I head out of the wire more often, I’ll begin to become more aware. I’ll get used to what Iraq looks like and be able to identify what is normal and what is not.

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Nothing is happening and its BORING! For the past few weeks all we’ve been doing is preparing for movement and conducting necessary soldier, vehicle, and weapons maintenance. What does that mean? Busy work really. Most of our time has been spent getting our strykers fixed and customized with additional armor. Something we’ve been trying to get done since Shelby. Things are finally coming along in that regard though supply is still an issue. Aside from that, we’ve also been going to a lot of classes. Who would have thought? Touchdown in Iraq to only find oneself attending classes.

A few days ago we had a false alarm. Things were beginning to look hopeful when a mission finally came up for us. My platoon was selected to go out first with only 3 hours notice and having to pack for about 21 days. We were set, primed, and ready in time but literally at the last second; the mission was canceled. We were supposed to go to a JSS (Joint Security Station) but since no barracks with power was available the highers scratched the mission. Honestly, living in a barracks without power is no biggy. This is a combat zone! Living with power is a perk and not a requirement in my mind.

Though I was pretty disappointed, there seems to be mixed opinions. Most of my fellow soldiers (especially those with family) seem fine with just sitting around. Honestly I can’t blame them. They want to get home safe to see their wife, kids, etc. I’m still that rambunctious bachelor though. For me, it’d be nice to have a task and sense of purpose over here. I voluntarily came on this deployment to do a job. I voluntarily became an 11B (infantryman) so that job would be something interesting and worthwhile. This sitting around, twiddling my thumbs bull crap is getting frustrating.

Now with almost 3 weeks in country, my unit is being transferred to another battalion. Which means leaving to a whole new base. Hopefully they will have a use for us. The only downside is leaving our current barracks. Everyone settled in since we were expecting to stay for the entire deployment. Suddenly we have TVs, fridges, microwaves, rugs, tables, chairs, etc that needs transporting too. We could leave it all, but that’s quite a bit of invested money. Hopefully things will work out and the next time I post, I’ll be doing something more interesting.

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From my brother who served in Iraq during the surge:

“My classmate from West Point (Craig Mullaney) published a book (“The Unforgiving Minute”) last week which recounts his time at West Point and as an officer leading Soldiers during combat in Afghanistan. Craig is a Rhodes Scholar who I know fairly well (as cadets we were both history majors and also spent a week together in Normandy, France studying the D-Day invasion). I’ve only had a chance to review his book, but after talking to him and reading the reviews on it I think that his story is perhaps similar to many of my experiences as well as many other company level leaders. I’ve included links to the NY Times Book review and a recent interview that Craig did with Bob Schieffer. His book has many high profile endorsements to include Gen Petraeus.”

The Battlefield Can Be an Unforgiving Teacher
Author On War In Afghanistan Video

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