Report from Iraq - Part One

I received a forwarded e-mail from my grade school best friend, Andy Arriviello, from a soldier in Iraq. It was really a moving - and quite interesting - letter. I wrote back to Andy to ask him more about the author; he is the cousin of his brother Brian's wife. I wrote back to the author (Kevin Kelly), and got his permission to post. It's rather long, so I am breaking it down into parts; here is Part One:

Hope this e-mail finds everyone well and eagerly anticipating spring. I wanted to take the time to thank everyone who has let me know that I am in their thoughts and prayers while here in Iraq. I also wanted to extend thanks to everyone who sent, or offered to send a package, letter or e-mail. It was very much appreciated. The one thing that being here has reminded me is that I am truly blessed and fortunate in so many ways. Thank you.

Many of the letters and e-mails I've received usually ask the same thing. What is it like over here? or what is your typical day like at Balad Airbase / LSA Anaconda? Since the days are fairly busy, the only response I usually send is either "fine" or "great", "talk to you later."

Right up front, let me apologize for the length of this particular e-mail. Since it is actually a response to so many different questions and e-mails, I'm reminded of our squadron joke that "if I'd had more time, I'da written a shorter brief." Anyway, I thought the best way to attack it was to take you through a typical day and mix in a few stories along the way along with a few pictures for the monosyllabic Bonner grads. Feel free to stop reading whenever you get bored.

The trip over her in the beginning of February was something I will never quite fully tell you about because frankly, after the second day I think I blanked it out of my memory. The movie planes, trains, and automobiles doesn't quite capture it….but it was close. For those of you who know the term FUBAR, we coined a new one, FUBIJAG. (f****d Up But I'm Just a Guardsman). I thought we were just keeping ourselves confused in case we fell into the hands of the enemy. Enough said, we arrived in Iraq.

After being awake for 54 hours the first thing we need, of course, is a power point briefing. I think they mentioned mortar attacks or something but suffice to say, we were issued body armor and sent to find our hooch's in the dark. You haven't seen dark until you've seen Iraqi desert, moonless dark. I did, however, notice that everything was surrounded by 12 ft high concrete barriers but didn't pay much attention. That night, while sleeping, I found out why. "Shabang!" loud enough to shake the fillings out of your teeth, followed by "alarm red, alarm red, take cover!" Then, another "shabang!" even louder this time. I asked my roommate, Raj, the penetrating question, "what the .…was that!?" and then promptly fell back asleep. Well, it turns out that Balad is just about 50 or so miles northeast of Baghdad. Most of the folks around this area were loyal to Saddam and some of them are paid by Al Qaeda to launch mortar attacks against the base. We later found out that the AIF (Anti-Iraqi Forces….I'll try to keep the military acronyms to a minimum) pay these dirt poor farmers to launch the mortars and they only get paid if they are successful in sounding the base alarm (i.e. If they get close to hitting something other than their neighbors across the street). There are some former Fedayeen Saddam in the mix that have training in this type of weaponry and they are somewhat accurate. For the most part though, very few mortars as a percentage actually reach the base. Most fall outside the fence line or fail to detonate. Usually about once a day the less skilled get lucky and find their mark. In a related story, 3 pilots from the 4th Fighter Squadron (the other F-16 Squadron here) were walking back to their car after buying some things at the shopette. One of the guys forgot to get napkins as he was eating a piece of pizza. They turned back to grab some and 3 seconds later a mortar demolished their car. The moral of the story….always go back for napkins. More to follow on the mortar situation.

Give me one paragraph on the political situation over here. 1. There is no civil war!! Despite what CNN reporters are telling you from their hotel rooms in Baghdad (with glee in some cases). I fly over every inch of this country both day and night. Is there serious political tension? Yes. Is there sporadic sectarian violence? Yes. Are there those who are willing to blow themselves and innocent Iraqis up in order to prevent a democratic Iraq from becoming a reality? Yes. Should that be the determining factor as to whether we throw up our hands and give up? Hell no! Since when has America been intimidated by bullies? Last time I checked, the price of greatness included responsibility. We have a responsibility to the people of Iraq and our own greatness as Americans to finish this righteous cause. This is to say nothing of the myriad other reasons that it was a spectacularly good thing to get rid of this despot and his rapist heirs. I even have a selfish reason. He had been taking potshots at me and my buddies in our F-16s since 1991, a slight nuisance I don't mind telling you. The vast majority of Iraqi people are incredibly grateful to the United States for saving them from the bloody and brutal dictatorship of Saddam Hussein and his sadist sons. The level of inhumanity inflicted by that horror of a human being is almost impossible to convey with words. All of the Iraqi people I have come into contact with say "thank you" for the chance we have given them. There are, granted, those who do not share this same gratitude; namely the former members of his regime and those who benefited from it, as well as foreign militant Islamists who see Iraq as the center of the struggle for a one world Islam. It kills me that the press in America still represents that we are at war with the people of Iraq. The democratically elected government of Iraq is our ally and we are helping them with their fledgling democracy, just as we helped Japan and Germany after the Second World War. What we have done in Iraq and what we are doing here now are among the noblest things we have ever done as a country. You know, we truly are the last best hope of the world. We dare not quash that hope in Iraq, and, in the process, destroy our valiant, struggling friends--and their hope for peace and justice. Someone please tell this to that moral retard David Gregory of NBC news. It was him and his ilk that Osama Bin-Laden had in mind when he called America "a paper tiger that would turn tail and run if we bloody their nose". Well guess what? David Gregory, Cindy Sheehan, Susan Sarandon, Ted Kennedy, and the rest of the pansies on the left should know one thing; the only way that the America I know negotiates with brutal thugs, is with our knee in their chest and our knife at their throats. Ahem….thus endith my soapbox rant.

I'll get to the flying in a bit, but I want to tell you about my visit to the hospital on the base here at Balad. All of the serious casualties, both American and Iraqi, are treated at Balad hospital. Thankfully, about 80% of the casualties these days are not American soldiers. Unfortunately however, they are new Iraqi Army soldiers, policeman, and civilians to include a disturbing number of children. I will tell you frankly, it was a very difficult thing to see and it left me a bit shaken. We took some Tastykakes with us (thanks Mom) for the injured soldiers. I wanted to thank the troops on the ground that have been bearing the brunt of the effort over here. As far as I'm concerned, Fighter Pilots are just support assets at this point. My only goal is to be there, ready to help if these guys need it. We talked with several of the soldiers and thank God, none of them were critically injured. One of the Army Privates had been shot through the hand by a sniper while he was drinking a Coke. The bullet went right through the can and then through his hand. We joked about how pissed the sniper must have been when he saw the Coke explode. He then went on to thank me, of all things, because he said, "when you guys show up overhead we all breath a little bit easier because we know the bad guys are scared shitless". Here's a guy who takes a bullet that misses his head by inches and he's sitting there thanking me? I'm "in the rear with the beer" as they say and all this kid can think of is to thank me. It put things into perspective and quite frankly, made me feel a little unworthy. If you take nothing else from this e-mail please remember this. The kids (and they are kids) who are serving over here are the best America has to offer. Their bravery is evident in their capacity to perform professionally even when scared half to death. They make me proud.

We left that ward and went to the ward that cared for the Iraqi citizens. To describe what I saw as "horrible" would not be adequate. The ward was full with police force and civilian casualties from a car bomb attack that occurred a day or so prior. I will describe it only because I think it is important for you to know what these animals are perpetrating on the innocent. Almost every patient was missing at least one limb and most were missing several. Despite the heavy sedation and pain medication, most were conscious, screaming and groaning in agony. Every patient suffered from burns and many were burned beyond recognition as something human. You see, the killers have recently started adding accelerant to their IEDs (Improvised Explosive Device) and car bombs in order to inflict maximum damage on their victims. If you aren't torn to shreds by the blast and fragmentation of the bomb, it's likely that you will be covered with flammable material that quickly melts the flesh from you body. These were women, children, old men, ordinary civilians. They do not discriminate, and are only somewhat concerned with hitting the ostensible target, Iraqi soldiers and police, whose only crime is their desire to help bring civilization to their country.

I'm not writing this to purposely shock anyone, but I will tell you something that may. If you ever have any doubt that you live in a thoroughly good, decent and moral country, just recall what I'm about to tell you. In the next ward, doctors and nurses were working just as diligently on the very animals who committed this despicable act. That's right; the military doctors make no distinction when rendering care to those brought to our hospital. They used all their brilliant skills and abilities to save the lives and provide comfort to the ones who perpetrated such a horrible crime. If the roles were reversed, the only thing their victims would receive is the edge of a dull knife across the throat. I scratch my head when so many back home are unable to make the moral distinction between the ideology that gave birth to the greatest country on earth, and the ideology of our enemy in Iraq. I am actually fearful that this moral blindness may one day lead to the downfall of our Republic. I only hope I'm wrong.

One last thing I want to mention before I give you the daily rundown and a few other stories. We have lost a few brave Americans. They went to the Lord after being killed in the line of duty. Prior to their bodies being carefully loaded on a C-130 aircraft for transport back to the U.S., an e-mail goes out for volunteers to serve as the Honor Guard. Along with the members of his unit, volunteers have the privilege of assisting with the conveyance of the flag draped casket. It typically happens late at night, on the flight line, with the C-130s rear platform lowered and the engines off. Unless you respond immediately to the e-mail, many others beat you to the chance to render honors. As the SOF (Supervisor of Flying) that night, I had the chance to witness the ceremony. The silence is deafening, the precision is astounding, and the reverence and veneration are complete. I was moved beyond words. I wept openly.

Since we receive so much from back home in the form of junk food, toiletries, etc., we decided to give most of it to some of the Iraqi kids whose families farm the land around the base. Whenever we are driving around the perimeter, they flag us down and ask us if we have any candy, money, or clothes. These children are beyond poor and it is evident that food is in very short supply. Their English is not too bad and they say things like, "George Bush good, Saddam bad" or "you come back tomorrow with a dollar". We met a little girl named Rhunda who obviously learned some English from the Army guys because when we told her that we would be back tomorrow with some shoes for her brother she said "you back tomorrow, no bullshit" They loved the Tastykakes of course.