One Of My Stories from Iraq

This is a story I covered in December just outside of Balad. The American Military Police are training the Iraqi Police and this was one of the classes. These soldiers are active duty MP's from Alaska and are on a 15-month deployment. This is a really great example of American soldiers working alongside, and training, Iraqis so they can secure their own country and we can get home sooner.

It's So Nice To Be Home

I'm not exactly home but it sure feels close. After traveling for four days, sitting in Kuwait for two days, enduring a 2 hour trip to the airport in Kuwait, a 6 hour flight to Germany, a two hour layover, followed by a 10 hour flight to Atlanta, another two hour layover followed by a 2 hour flight to Dallas....I've ended up at the USO lounge at the Dallas/Fort Worth airport.

This place is fantastic. Full of wonderful people greeting us with cheers, handshakes, and patriotic salutes. They even have Diet Mt. Dew in the fridge. I'm salivating at the high speed internet. It's the little things people.

My clothes are dirty and I need a shower but I just can not wait to hop on that plane to California and hug my husband and doghter!

If you've ever thought of supporting a non-profit (other than Pros vs. GI Joes of course), the USO is a great place to do it...they make life better for troops and they're always there with a hug, handshake, and even a Diet Mt. Dew.

If you haven't guessed, I'm on my two week vaca from the sandbox. It's so great to be back in the USA!!

The Fallen

I must say that despite my best efforts, keeping up with this blog has been challenging. You see, I have internet in my trailer, without limitations, but I have to string the cord roughly 300 feet from the portal to reach my trailer and on several occasions, the cord has been severed and/or the connection lost. It works maybe 40% of the time and I pay $85 bucks a month for it! That's some costly instant messaging wouldn't you say? Point is, the only place I can update this is in my trailer and I can barely get on-line to email my husband! I do have internet access at the office but because they are government provided computers, we can't access most sites, especially if it has blog in the URL. It's quite frustrating actually because most news sites are blocked and articles I wish to read on the election or on the news that shapes our world aren't accessible. And since I don't have cable in my room, a lot of the time I feel fairly secluded from what's going on outside the cement t-wall barriers and constantina wires of the FOB.

But it's when I get outside the confines of this base that I truly find out what is going on. I am reminded, sadly, of the price many people are paying.

Two weeks ago, I was told to pack lightly for a pretty high-speed mission outside the wire. I didn't really know what was going on but I knew it wasn't going to be the kind of story I usually cover here on LSA Anaconda. This was, they said, the 101st Airborne Division's response to the death of three of their soldiers.

We left the FOB (Forward Operation Base) before the sun came up on a Friday, convoying through freezing rain and yes, snow in the desert. I traveled with the 2nd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Their mission was to suppress the objective (enemy) using 1200 rounds of highly explosive ammunition (artillery) from their offensive staging area 10 kilometers away. Basically, they were tasked with raining explosive hell on an Al Qaeda base camp (the objective) just south of Samarra until ground forces could go in and finish the job.

To understand this operation, you must first understand the events leading up to it. On February 8th, soldiers conducting ground patrols in the area received word about suspicious movement within the high reeded farmlands in Samarra. Those soldiers, consisting of squads from Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, set out to recon the area. As they were doing this, they were ambushed by the enemy who, they later found out, were Al Qaeda insurgents conducting extensive operations against US and coalition forces in the area.

During the 3 hour battle, 3 United States soldiers died. 19-year-old PFC Ivan Merlo, 20-year-old PFC Phillip Pannier, and 22-year-old SGT David Hart. When our young men die, there is a price to pay. And that price came in the form of OPERATION FULTON.

It's unclear how many of the enemy were killed but what is clear is that their little sanctuary of hate in the middle of Samarra is now nothing more than an open air morgue of smoldering debris. No one wants to think of soldiers dying to further the war but in this case, these brave men truly did not die in vain. The offensive launched as a result of their deaths, Operation Fulton, unearthed one of the largest Al Qaeda strongholds in the region. Within those reeds were underground tunnel systems, dug-in fighting positions, medical stations, and escape routes. Al Qaeda planned and conducted attacks against US and coalition forces like dirty little tunnel rats until January 8th when our soldiers, including PFC Merlo, PFC Pannier, and SGT Hart fought and died to take them down.

When I cover stories like this, I am so humbled by what I see and hear. I talk to young men who helplessly watch their friends die and somehow, they still soldier on. When they talk to me, they are methodical in their thinking and speaking, almost robotic in their delivery. They are sad, I'm sure, but they keep emotion out of it. They have to. Because they aren't going home any time soon and this ambush may be just one of many they will face until that time comes.

It's also times like these that I'm reminded what my job is as a soldier. That although the last thing they want to do is recount what killed their friends, this is their opportunity, through me, to tell the story of their friends as soldiers, as heroes, as men. I'm humbled by that and I realize that if I didn't serve my country while holding a camera, you may never know the names IVAN MERLO, PHILLIP PANNIER, and DAVID HART and the sacrifice they made for all of us.

19 Year Old Ivan Merlo

20 Year Old Phillip Pannier

22 Year Old David Hart

Just So You Don't Think It's All Bad

I'm Ashamed But Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

Okay, so maybe I am not really that ashamed but I AM really sorry! Does that count? I keep promising that I will post more often only to NOT post and fib like a fool! Okay, so the buck stops here! Mark my words: I will post more often and I'm about to set a goal of two posts per week! I can do it! I know I can!

I realize I sound like a loon but I just put in an 18 hour work day on Christmas - I'm beat and probably a little nutty at this point. We had a pretty good day - a busy one - but good. I talked to my wonderful HUSBAND a few times which always make me incredibly happy and today even made me cry. I talked to my mom, my grandmother and my in-laws as well. It was wonderful to hear their voices. Everyone sent great gifts, which I'll explain with pictures later in the week, especially Greg who always manages to outdo himself!! He is so thoughtful and creative - unless you've seen the prizes (yes, I call presents "prizes") he gets me, nothing will prepare you! I truly hit the husband jackpot! Here's a tease: he let me know he has "A WONDERFUL LIFE". Eek, I can't wait to share!!

For now, though, I'm going to wrap this up and hit the sheets. I will be back tomorrow and I'm sure I'll find something interesting to talk about! Perhaps what's been keeping me busy for the last month? Yep, that sounds good. More on that tomorrow.

Until then, MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS! And to anyone who lost a child, husband, wife, grandchild, father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, or friend in this WAR, this year or any other, my heart and the heart of my family go out to you. Thank you for your sacrifice and I'm just so so sorry for your loss. We are all thinking of you today....

Apparently, Iraq Is My Catwalk

I’ve been a bad girl. It’s been almost a month since I’ve updated and I really am sorry for that. I know people look forward to hearing what is going on and seeing pictures. So much for my Picture of the Day, huh? I will be better, REALLY, I promise. I’ll be better.

It’s been a busy month, which is a good excuse for why I haven’t posted, but it wouldn’t be the truth. It’s just that when I finally get back to my trailer at night, usually after 9pm and a 12 to 15-hour day, I’m just too tired to be creative and/or entertaining. And I realize you don’t need me to be creative, you just want “me”, but there is some pressure when you know people will be reading.

Life out here is pretty good, all things considered. It’s very different than my first tour - I mean, really different. In the Green Zone in 2004, we were surrounded by hundreds of civilian contractors, federal employees from the Department of Defense and State Department, and local Iraqis hired for daily work in “the zone”. I was covering stories that spanned the country – from oil refineries, hospitals, schools, and even the Babylon ruins. Occasionally, those stories would involve soldiers but mostly, they were stories of rebuilding and restructuring, and often times they starred civilians who were paid big bucks to improve the quality of life in Iraq. Admittedly, those stories were fun because I got to travel and see a lot of things, but I didn’t truly get a solid appreciation for what the soldiers on the ground were doing on a daily basis – because mostly I was interviewing civilians. Now, although the mission isn’t as “sexy” (my detachment falls under a “sustainment” command – which means feeding supplies to troops in theater), I certainly do appreciate what the soldiers are doing on a daily basis and just how vital and important their role is in this conflict. I’m not talking politics; I’m talking soldiering.

Every day, there are soldiers who go on “route clearance” missions outside the wire. They are the soldiers who go out before the supply delivery convoys, usually before the sun comes up, and scout for IED’s or other known threats in the area. They do this so the supply convoys have a better chance of reaching their destination without incident – meaning, they clear the route of potential bombs that cause unimaginable damage and harm. Take a minute to think of that as your job – something that becomes so routine you forget there is a good chance it can kill you. Personalize it, if you can. It’s mind blowing to think of what theses men and women do for a living. That, for whatever the reason is they joined the military, they now find themselves confronting explosives head on and detonating them before they kill their battle buddies. It sounds cheesy but to me, it’s awe-inspiring. I do little in comparison to these soldiers; I simply put a camera in their face and ask for the privilege to tell their story but seeing it firsthand gives me a much deeper appreciation for how tough, and dangerous, a job it is.

We don’t get caught up in the politics of this War. In fact, I feel pretty out of touch with what is going on in the news, unlike last time. I rarely, if ever, have time to watch television or read the newspaper, and I don’t have any idea what is going on with the Presidential race. In less than a year, we will have a new Commander in Chief, and most of us are so busy with our mission, we have little time to absorb information that will help us cast our vote. I anticipate many trips here by Presidential candidates in 2008. The military vote is a large one and whoever is voted in office has a huge responsibility with our lives. I don’t envy that responsibility (shudder).

Before I came here, I authored a post on this blog labeled “Care Packages”. I thought it was fairly information and I knew some people might think the comment about the letters from school children being largely unnecessary was a bit harsh, but I didn’t think it would warrant this type of backlash:

Anonymous said...

My, my the Department of Defense is spending its money well on you. Pretty as a picture and living in luxery in Iraq. And that deal you have with Netgrocer (another client of your firm?) must be very lucrative.

Many soldiers are living in very remote, dangerous and inconvenient areas. They write daily to an organization you put down and say that any communication with soldiers would be GREATLY appreciated. Your crack about "random" letters from midwestern school children tells most of us that you are a PR plant. A well paid (and well housed) model posing as a PR person hired by the government to show us what a great old time our soldiers are having.

I support this effort and our troops and don't advise sending junk at all. However, it is very clear that you have an agenda and that the solders would be best served by the unpaid citizens who supprt them and not some press release writer like you are.

Wow...I'd love to meet this person face to face. Better yet, I'd love this person to meet my mom, my husband, my brother and sister, my in-laws, my friends, and my boss's at Access Hollywood and SDI who have also had to sacrifice and worry every single day that I've spent in Iraq since late 2003. I understand someone taking my post out of context, but this particular commenter clearly has an agenda of his or her own. Just for giggles, in case "anonymous" comes back for a second round of MY LIFE A to Z literature, I'll address some of the accusations with proof they are more than a little ill-informed.

Pretty as a picture and living in luxery in Iraq.

Does anyone else find this part of the sentence bizarre? "...living in luxery (sic) in Iraq". Who thinks that ANYONE is living in luxury in Iraq? hahahahaha...okay moving on.

I guess I should take the compliment and accept that sometimes I am pretty as a picture. After all, I am assuming the picture he/she is looking at is from my wedding and if HAPPINESS equals PRETTY, them I'm guilty as charged. As for living in luxery (um, spell check is key if you are going for credibility), try this out for size: I have sand in nearly every crevice; my fingernails, no matter how often I clean them, are always dirty; I share a porto potty with hundreds of strangers at least 5 times a day; I share a very small room with another woman, virtually guaranteeing little or no privacy for a year; I live on a base that is mortared several times throughout the day and my wake up call sometimes sounds like this: "this is the command post, there has been an indirect fire attack. I repeat, there has been an indirect fire attack. seek cover seek cover seek cover."; every day I inhale toxins and who knows what else from smoke that rises from the huge fire pit on base; several times a month, I seek to tell stories that can potentially kill me, because that is my job; my husband of just six months, my family, friends and job are more than 8,000 miles away; And I live in the most dangerous country in the world. Some luxurious life, huh? If I'm not mistaken, save for the "cot life" in Kuwait on my way here, I've never really complained about the set up, have I? Just checking.

that deal you have with Netgrocer (another client of your firm?) must be very lucrative.

hahahahahaha - I've personally spent hundreds of dollars at Netgrocer.com during my deployments. I've yet to see any dollaz coming to me....hahahahahaha. This is fun.

Many soldiers are living in very remote, dangerous and inconvenient areas.

This is very true and I have addressed the living conditions of these soldiers, including my appreciation for what they do. Perhaps he/she should read the entire post, and they'll see that.

They write daily to an organization you put down and say that any communication with soldiers would be GREATLY appreciated.

I didn't put any organization down; I simply said that many (but not all) soldiers want to communicate with people they know, instead of complete strangers. If you are not a member of the military, you probably don't understand. At first, the letters are cute but after a while, you crave personal communication. ALL communication is appreciated but some is more effective than others. That is all I was trying to say. Jeez.

...tells most of us that you are a PR plant. A well paid (and well housed) model posing as a PR person hired by the government to show us what a great old time our soldiers are having.

Bitter much? Yea, I'm Sydney Bristow and this is my version of Alias, only I'm a model and Iraq is my catwalk. How many models do you know are PR plants - in the most dangerous countries in the world? And how many models do you know make $28,000 a year working internationally, as I apparently am right now? Better yet, if I am a model posing as a PR plant, why do I look like a soldier? I'm wearing a uniform so according to "anonymous" that would make me a soldier plant, not a PR plant. Hahahaha...thanks for the model compliment though. Camouflage does suit me, I'll give you that. Keep reading this blog, and the one from last time, and you'll see, if the government is paying me to push positive stories about them, they aren't using their money wisely.

it is very clear that you have an agenda and that the solders would be best served by the unpaid citizens who supprt them and not some press release writer like you are.

Tsk Tsk. Again with the spellcheck. Look in to it. For the record, I think the soldiers are very well served by me, not as a "model pr plant", but as their battle buddy. I serve alongside them, with them at times, through 2 deployments, while documenting a truly unique and intense time in their lives; a time when all they want to do is succeed at their mission so they can return home in one piece; a time when many of them lose friends in an instant while keeping Americans safe to enjoy their freedom; a time when emails make the difference in their day and a care package from their family fuels the energy they need to keep going; a time when people like anonymous questions their service and try to make them feel guilty because they are provided with a decent bed to sleep on. But they keep going because that's what soldiers do.


Greg will laugh at me responding to "anonymous" and I don't blame him because I'm giving attention to someone whose comment was buried in a post from months ago. When I first read it, it really did bother me. In fact, I was pissed. But then I cooled off and laughed about it. The model bit was my favorite. And while I am no longer upset about it, I wanted to defend the allegations, not for most people who read this blog but for those like "anonymous" who feel I was disrespectful in my post.

Mostly, though, I'm fighting back because this deployment and separation is very painful to me. Every day I hurt, just like thousands of other soldiers, and whether they are resting comfortably in trailers or sleeping uncomfortably on the sand, the pain of prolonged separation is the same. And if one person, whether I know them or not, questions the sincerity of my service, I take it personally. I'm not some high paid model working undercover in Iraq; I'm an American soldier and this is my second tour of duty in a war zone in service of my Country. I am sacrificing, my family is sacrificing and thousands of Americans have paid the ultimate sacrifice. I will not allow some random comment to cheapen that.

The GI JOES are ready for the PROS!

I know I have been lax on my postings and I'm sorry but this has been an incredibly busy week. I will post soon, a long post that is long overdue, but for now HERE are some GI JOES stationed in Iraq who are talkin' trash to the PROS! They can't wait for the competitions to begin!