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- May 29, 2003
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Thought you would like to see parts of a letter a young man sent me from Iraq. He had come to our Church Camp for about 10 years, or more, and I have known him all his life, and his family for more years than I care to remember.<br /><br />Anyway, here is his letter:<br /><br />Howdy everybody!<br /> It has truly been awhile since I sent an email to let you know how things are in Habbaniyah. Well, here it goes....<br /><br />Today was the official election for Iraq! It was pretty cool to see the voters coming to the polls to cast their vote. The referendum two months ago was a very poor turn out in this area, which is no surprise, seeing as how we are sitting in the center of the Sunni Triangle. But today we saw many more voters heading out to let their voice be heard. It was strange, but for some reason the locals were given permission from Coalition forces to carry their AK-47's today for "security" around the polling sites. This was very odd to us, especially since we are extra wary of insurgent activity on days such as this. In our sector they are not allowed to be out of their house with their rifle normally, and the very possession of it outside, alone would establish enough hostile intent to engage. They were proud to carry their weapons it seemed, because we saw many. Thank God, that nothing in our sector happened again! It was an eventless day here, and for that we are always happy.<br /><br />I did see a man digging in the median of the road in a town, which he knows he is not allowed to do. With the high amount of IED's that are planted in our sector, such an act would meet the ROE's (Rules of Engagement) stipulation for lethal force. But he did not act suspicious as my Tank sped towards him, (which probably saved his life) and upon arriving at the scene we saw he was trying to fix a water break in the road. I don't often get to dismount, but I called an interpreter, who was in the vicinity, and was able to tell the guy he needs to have a work permit. But at the end of the conversation, I asked him if he had voted yet, and he said with a big smile that he did, then rattled off the name of the person he voted for. He seemed so proud.<br /><br />Some of my men have been cross training on Tanks. Due to maintenance issues and the greater amount of Tanks we have compared to Bradleys, we are forced to begin operating on tanks. None of us wanted to at first, because we had gotten use to working in the Brad, but after the first couple days in sector, I didn't seem to mind much. First of all, it is more armor, which can't hurt. The first two days in the tank my crew and I identified 2 separate IED's, both were defeated (score 2 points for the good guys). But, on the second day, right after EOD had cleared the IED, we continued our movement down the MSR. Not 5 minutes later, as we were driving, we were hit with a massive IED. It went off on my side...direct hit on the Tank, and left a crater along side the road about 15 feet wide and 6 feet deep. Thank God again for his protection and the prayers of so many of you.... I was only thrown down in the tank from the pressure of the blast, and had a shower of debris. None of us were hurt, and the tank was basically unscathed! That was the biggest one I have been hit by, and I was enjoying the fact that I was in a 70 ton vehicle.<br /><br />My Company is very proud to have a 73% ratio of identified and defeated IEDs, compared to attacked-by (This month). Two months ago we were informed by our Brigade Commander that this ratio is far better than any other unit that has ever served in Iraq. Now, we are getting even better at spotting these bad boys, and defeating them. Our MSR is considered the most dangerous stretch of highway in Iraq, so to have such a good record is very rewarding. You would be surprised at how good these guys are at planting these things. The last one I found was encased in concrete, 2 artillery shells, and placed in the road, alongside of similar concrete blocks. All I knew was that it looked out of place, and there seemed to be an inch of what looked like wire coming from the corner of the block. Well, it turned out to be an IED. They are getting craftier at planting these things, but the bad news for them is we keep getting better at finding them. I know you may wonder why it is that we dont catch these punks placing them. First, they are so good at this that you may be looking at a maximum of 30 seconds to place an IED. (Man opens his car door, lays the IED in the dirt, dumps a bucket of similar dirt on top, drives away....15 seconds...for example). Secondly, they know when to do it, what confusion or other attacks to capitalize on....dust signatures created by the tanks or brads, possibly when your turret is facing another direction. It is frustrating that we fight a faceless enemy, but on the flip side, it is rewarding to defeat and demoralize him by finding these bombs.<br /><br />I have been tasked by the Commander, as an additional duty, to be the Morale Recreation and Welfare (MWR) Officer. Basically this means that I am responsible for planning, organizing, and executing activities for the men to participate in. This is important, especially in a steady state military environment, to give the guys something else to do and think about, besides the mission. Especially at Christmas time, the suicide rate for deployed soldiers is the highest and organized events or mandatory down time helps to battle many of their feelings of isolation. So we have had the opportunity so far to have a car smashing (of an impounded BMW), a cook out and bon fire, and I will be planning a Christmas party. I have been really excited about the response of the men to these things. <br /><br />That is the latest of the updates from here in the Al Anbar Province. Again, sorry it was so long, but I hope it gave a decent snapshot of what is going on here. I have been receiving cards, emails, and gifts of love from many of you. Thank you. I ask that you keep these men in your prayers, especially during the holidays. Pray that the peace of God will fill their hearts, and his protection on them and their families. Love you all.<br /><br />Nathan<br /><br />1LT Nathan *******<br />"Voodoo" PLT<br />C Co. 1/103 Armor
