Well, I haven't blogged in a while, so I figured it was about time to knock out a chunk of writing.
Everything is going ok here, pretty normal Iraq stuff - - we have been focusing on how the National Police will be paying the Sons of Iraq next month. November is the first month that the Government of Iraq is responsible for paying the SOI. There about 2500 SOIs in our area in about 20 groups, none of these groups are regimented in any sort of way, and the leadership consists of a leader and a pack of Sofwah (the nickname for an SOI soldier - - it loosely means Awakening, which was the name of the Sunni uprising against insurgents that coincided with the surge of US troops). Traditionally, the SOI is the bottom of the pack and they were paid by the US. On 1 OCT 08 the responsibility for the SOI got turned over to the Government of Iraq, so, now they are officially part of the security structure of the nation. The National Police Brigade I am working with now has the responsibility for the care and feeding of about 2,500 more people. This will be an interesting next couple of months.
The SOI basically act as eyes and ears in the neighborhoods, they are armed and can solve some small problems, but mostly they have to call the National Police for help if something arises. They do provide a great deal of information, but they are a challenge administratively and logistically. The general I work with is working very hard to make sure the SOI are integrated in everything that is related to security, and that is what I have been helping him with. It is definitely not kicking down doors, clearing rooms, firefights with the bad guys or arresting evil-doers, but it is important to the overall security of Iraq.
Other Iraq news:
Yesterday was IED number 2 in the area, which is a very low number across Iraq, but is still the second one in 10 days. It was another smaller IED, targeted at US forces, the IED pretty much scratched up the paint on a Mine Resistant, Anti-Ambush, Protected (MRAP) vehicle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MRAP armored_vehicle ), but not much else, no injuries and the vehicle drove away. The National Police Brigade has taken this very seriously, any threat to the coalition is a threat to them, so they are combing through the neighborhoods and gathering as much information as they can. They have some pretty good suspects (good enough to get warrants issued by the judge) on the first one, it just takes time to scoop folks up.
Chai update:
Chai comes in waves - - the first wave is normally the first glass of tea, very strong, lots of sugar. The glasses the general uses to entertain with are about the size of shot glasses, so, not a lot content, but it packs a punch. If you are in the office for more than 30 minutes, a second round of chai comes out. Of course I have a pretty good buzz going after two glasses (I normally don't use a lot of caffeine, but when in Rome . . . ). If the meeting goes on over an hour, the heavy stuff comes out - - Arabic coffee. Imagine the left over coffee after the coffeepot has been on the burner for a week or so, that is how strong Arabic coffee is, about the same flavor too, very bitter. The general really likes it, so I suck some down. The serving size is very small, it barely covers the bottom of the cup, so I just slug it down. After two glasses of tea and cup of coffee, the Chai High is rocking. I have learned that if I don't want any more coffee I should just jiggle the cup when Chai Refill Man comes around. I kind of like the tea, but not the coffee.
Iraqi food:
For those of you wondering about dining with the natives - - the food is pretty good, but the next week or so is pretty rough. I think the Iraqis know this so they time inviting us to lunch so that they can prolong the gastronomic agony. About every week or so there is an occasion to eat some chow with the Iraqis, as a guest, I can't really turn it down. From now on though, I will follow some simple rules: Well cooked meats, no dairy products or creams, no vegetables, some rice and all the baklava I can eat. I have found a way to get them back though - - apparently American food has the same effect on Iraqis, so I make it a point to invite the general and his commanders to the chow hall as often as possible. I will let you know who confesses to the plot first.
Husker update:
5-3, pretty good record compared to last year. I am able to track the games on rivals.com, mostly follow the stats and plays as the web site updates. I am hoping that the Nebraska vs. oklahoma game is televised here, I may be able to watch some of it if it is on AFN. My sister swears she is going to send me the Baylor game on disc, I will make everyone watch it because they are for the most part Husker haters.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Just Letting You Know What Is Going On
Yesterday was an interesting day. We had two pretty major events in the district: The district security meeting and a detainee release ceremony. Both events took place at the the National Police Brigade Headquarters. The first one was a meeting with all of the Sons of Iraq leaders. The Sons of Iraq (SoI) grew out of local "concerned citizen's groups" and are basically a work/security program for military aged youth and their local leaders. This does two things: It provides a large group of folks that can watch an area and report things that are happening and keeps the young ones employed and off the streets. At the beginning of October, the US Military gave control of the SoIs to the Iraqi government and the Iraqi government has put either the National Police or Iraqi Army in charge of the SoIs. In our area, the National Police Brigade is in charge of them. Like most everything, this is a new thing and like most everything, there will be challenges associated with absorbing the organization. The first challenge will be how to get them paid (not as easy as it sounds) and then all of the administrative and logistical things that go along with standing up a local security force.
The second event was a detainee release ceremony. As the US transitions most everything to the government of Iraq, we are clearing out our detention facilities. Most of the hardened criminals are being turned over to the government of Iraq, other folks that didn't really commit a crime are being released. Each time a detainee is released, his local sheik has to come and pick him up at the police headquarters and basically vouch for them and promise to keep them out of trouble. All of the detainees are told that they will receive special attention and observation from the NP and SoI. Should be interesting to see if any of them get into any other trouble.
For the record: Our first month in theater is over. 11 more to go.
Fantasy Football update: Team Fritz took a major hit when Tony Romo's pinky got broke. Not only did I lose a solid and proven producer, but the rest of my Dallas offense players (TO, Marion Barber, Jason Witten and Nick Folk) are suffering in production too. Top that off with a couple of bonehead trades (Randy Moss for TO - - Who is producing now? not TO. and LT for Brian Westbrook who went out the next game and twisted his ankle and broke a rib) and Team Fritz is fading fast. I am banking on a Dallas revival when Tony Romo comes back, we'll see. Team Wade is getting closer.
The second event was a detainee release ceremony. As the US transitions most everything to the government of Iraq, we are clearing out our detention facilities. Most of the hardened criminals are being turned over to the government of Iraq, other folks that didn't really commit a crime are being released. Each time a detainee is released, his local sheik has to come and pick him up at the police headquarters and basically vouch for them and promise to keep them out of trouble. All of the detainees are told that they will receive special attention and observation from the NP and SoI. Should be interesting to see if any of them get into any other trouble.
For the record: Our first month in theater is over. 11 more to go.
Fantasy Football update: Team Fritz took a major hit when Tony Romo's pinky got broke. Not only did I lose a solid and proven producer, but the rest of my Dallas offense players (TO, Marion Barber, Jason Witten and Nick Folk) are suffering in production too. Top that off with a couple of bonehead trades (Randy Moss for TO - - Who is producing now? not TO. and LT for Brian Westbrook who went out the next game and twisted his ankle and broke a rib) and Team Fritz is fading fast. I am banking on a Dallas revival when Tony Romo comes back, we'll see. Team Wade is getting closer.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
And a Good Day
Riding the Chai High right now . . . it is 11PM or so here and I can't sleep. I am very sensitive to caffeine and in Iraq, Chai (tea) is drunk like water. Every time I sit down with the general the Chai comes out. Today was a two cupper, but it was one heckuva day.
The day started off kind of slow, nice little 40 minuter on the treadmill. After that we started rolling on the road. We did some coordination at one of the FOBs, had some lunch and went on back to our COP. Right when we were getting ready to go do another visit I got a call from the general and he wanted to see me. After a quick frago we hit the brigade headquarters and saw what a good day looked like for the National Police.
As we pulled up the soldiers were unloading LITERALLY A TON, OVER TWO THOUSAND POUNDS of C-4 and about 500 more pounds of powdered C-4. I just sat there and stared for a while. To be honest, I had never seen that much explosive in one area. The NP were literally bouncing with joy for two reasons. First, if you remember from my last blog, their comrade was killed by an IED that was made with either C-4 or some sort of home made explosive. Second, most of the IEDs that are made in Bagdhad nowadays are made from either C-4 or a home made explosive. This discovery took over a ton of IED materiel off of the streets of Bagdhad and away from Iraqi citzens and coallition forces. Pretty sweet day.
The sweetest part of the day was that local Sons of Iraq found the cache of explosives. The Sons of Iraq are local military aged men that prior to this month the US Military had hired as local watchmen. This month, control of the Sons of Iraq transferred to the Iraqi military. There has been a lot of concern about this and whether or not they would be effective. In this area, they are on it. Pretty cool to watch.
How did all of this go down? Basically, the Sons of Iraq had found a smaller cache of explosives two days ago in the vicinity of this cache and decided to keep looking around. They came across an area where someone had done some digging and started poking through the dirt and JACKPOT. The neighborhood watch, the guys that were shooting at coalition forces two years ago were instrumental in finding over a ton of IED making explosives. They called the NP and local coallition forces and the rest is history.
The general that I work with has his own press corps, two cameramen (I call them the soldiers that walk backwards) that follow him around and shoot footage of the operations that are conducted and the NP in action. They also do a lot of filming of him in action, which is pretty cool, but also unnerving because I am standing right next to him (Just ask mom, I hate having my picture taken). Today, they shot video of the cache spread out on the ground, lined up as neatly as you can line up a ton of plastic explosives, and sent it off to Bagdhad. Within two hours, the discovery was on the Iraqi equivalent of CNN. The general is all over this counter-insurgency stuff. He has a great relation with the sheiks who head up the Sons of Iraq, as well as the local govenors and mayors.
A very good day.
The day started off kind of slow, nice little 40 minuter on the treadmill. After that we started rolling on the road. We did some coordination at one of the FOBs, had some lunch and went on back to our COP. Right when we were getting ready to go do another visit I got a call from the general and he wanted to see me. After a quick frago we hit the brigade headquarters and saw what a good day looked like for the National Police.
As we pulled up the soldiers were unloading LITERALLY A TON, OVER TWO THOUSAND POUNDS of C-4 and about 500 more pounds of powdered C-4. I just sat there and stared for a while. To be honest, I had never seen that much explosive in one area. The NP were literally bouncing with joy for two reasons. First, if you remember from my last blog, their comrade was killed by an IED that was made with either C-4 or some sort of home made explosive. Second, most of the IEDs that are made in Bagdhad nowadays are made from either C-4 or a home made explosive. This discovery took over a ton of IED materiel off of the streets of Bagdhad and away from Iraqi citzens and coallition forces. Pretty sweet day.
The sweetest part of the day was that local Sons of Iraq found the cache of explosives. The Sons of Iraq are local military aged men that prior to this month the US Military had hired as local watchmen. This month, control of the Sons of Iraq transferred to the Iraqi military. There has been a lot of concern about this and whether or not they would be effective. In this area, they are on it. Pretty cool to watch.
How did all of this go down? Basically, the Sons of Iraq had found a smaller cache of explosives two days ago in the vicinity of this cache and decided to keep looking around. They came across an area where someone had done some digging and started poking through the dirt and JACKPOT. The neighborhood watch, the guys that were shooting at coalition forces two years ago were instrumental in finding over a ton of IED making explosives. They called the NP and local coallition forces and the rest is history.
The general that I work with has his own press corps, two cameramen (I call them the soldiers that walk backwards) that follow him around and shoot footage of the operations that are conducted and the NP in action. They also do a lot of filming of him in action, which is pretty cool, but also unnerving because I am standing right next to him (Just ask mom, I hate having my picture taken). Today, they shot video of the cache spread out on the ground, lined up as neatly as you can line up a ton of plastic explosives, and sent it off to Bagdhad. Within two hours, the discovery was on the Iraqi equivalent of CNN. The general is all over this counter-insurgency stuff. He has a great relation with the sheiks who head up the Sons of Iraq, as well as the local govenors and mayors.
A very good day.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Tuff day in Iraq
Today was our first "real day" in Iraq. The 40 day string of no incidents was broken this morning in a bad way. One of the National Police vehicles was hit by an IED and an Iraqi National Police soldier was killed, two were wounded. The IED was on one of the routes that a lot of coalition re-supply missions go on, but we think the insurgents were targeting the Iraqi National Police - - the size of the charge was very small for an IED (about 20lbs) and it was put in a place where the National Police normally park their truck when they go patrol through a vehicle.
Up to this point, the National Police had done a great job keeping that route clear, now I suspect that area is going to get a lot of attention, whether they wanted it or not.
We went to the site with the General (my counterpart), and he got right to work with the local sheiks and Sons of Iraq leaders. We followed up two leads, but no other clues were found, but we will keep working with the NP to find out who did it. In a situation like this the standard Iraqi answer up front is "I didn't see anything or anyone . . . " until the heat starts to get cranked up. Then folks start to talk. I suspect there will be some good leads and solid evidence in the next few days.
Iraq is going to have a few more bad years, but there are a lot of folks that are plain tired of all of this and want to get their lives going again. Those are the folks that are imporant. Anyway, just wanted to blog it up, normally I keep the blog light but today was a different sort of day.
Up to this point, the National Police had done a great job keeping that route clear, now I suspect that area is going to get a lot of attention, whether they wanted it or not.
We went to the site with the General (my counterpart), and he got right to work with the local sheiks and Sons of Iraq leaders. We followed up two leads, but no other clues were found, but we will keep working with the NP to find out who did it. In a situation like this the standard Iraqi answer up front is "I didn't see anything or anyone . . . " until the heat starts to get cranked up. Then folks start to talk. I suspect there will be some good leads and solid evidence in the next few days.
Iraq is going to have a few more bad years, but there are a lot of folks that are plain tired of all of this and want to get their lives going again. Those are the folks that are imporant. Anyway, just wanted to blog it up, normally I keep the blog light but today was a different sort of day.
Monday, October 13, 2008
First Day on the Road
We had a pretty good day today. It started off with a nice little treadmill run for some cardio, then we did pretty much a whirlwind tour of our AO. We will have some more tours here soon.
Our AO is partially a suburb of Bagdhad, we are on the other side of the Tigris River from the rest of the suburbs. The rest is agricultural type of land, mostly dates from what I saw today. We were tooling around with the National Police Commander, a very good guy, dedicated to settling Iraq's problems in a non-sectarian way, he will knock Sunni and Shia heads equally. His sector has had no serious incidents for several months while the sectors next to his have had several. Right across the boundary from his sector there was an RPG attack on a convoy the day after I arrived. It is funny when you see the serious incident slides for the past month, there are a lot of red and yellow dots in the sectors surrounding this sector, NONE in ours.
Our tour started off at a school that was just starting out it's school year (Ramadan ended last week, and they start school a week after Ramadan). The NP CDR handed out a pile of school supplies that a church in the US was kind enough to send over. It was pretty cool to see that in action, the NP CDR and the school principal decided to hand out the stuff only to the orphans and other students who's parents can't afford supplies.
We also toured some of the other hot spots in our AO. It was interesting to watch the NP CDR (my counterpart) walk right up to a business leader in the area and ask him how things were going. There were some areas that are clearly not pro-Iraqi government, but the CDR jumped right out of his truck and started chatting folks up. He made it a point to point out that business was happening and the markets were open, instead of closed when there was fighting between the National Police and the anti-government forces. Pretty cool. More folks in Iraq should do things like this.
Tomorrow is more briefings and area familiarization. Should be a hoot.
Fantasy Football update: I know I haven't updated my blog in a while, but last week was a huge week for Team Fritz. I left Team Wade further in the dust, moved up into contention for the money, and watched Team Mark not do so well. It has been reported that Team Mark has made some scientifically based trades, I hope they help, the grandma in the league is smoking him.
Running update: HUGE PROPS to JFord, my running buddy in DC. He scored me an Army Ten Miler Coin (I had a 5 year string of them going) and some running swag from the race. I hung the route map up in our gym, right across from the treadmill so I can imagine where I am running the Army Ten Miler every time I run on the treadmill. Thanks a ton, JFord.
Our AO is partially a suburb of Bagdhad, we are on the other side of the Tigris River from the rest of the suburbs. The rest is agricultural type of land, mostly dates from what I saw today. We were tooling around with the National Police Commander, a very good guy, dedicated to settling Iraq's problems in a non-sectarian way, he will knock Sunni and Shia heads equally. His sector has had no serious incidents for several months while the sectors next to his have had several. Right across the boundary from his sector there was an RPG attack on a convoy the day after I arrived. It is funny when you see the serious incident slides for the past month, there are a lot of red and yellow dots in the sectors surrounding this sector, NONE in ours.
Our tour started off at a school that was just starting out it's school year (Ramadan ended last week, and they start school a week after Ramadan). The NP CDR handed out a pile of school supplies that a church in the US was kind enough to send over. It was pretty cool to see that in action, the NP CDR and the school principal decided to hand out the stuff only to the orphans and other students who's parents can't afford supplies.
We also toured some of the other hot spots in our AO. It was interesting to watch the NP CDR (my counterpart) walk right up to a business leader in the area and ask him how things were going. There were some areas that are clearly not pro-Iraqi government, but the CDR jumped right out of his truck and started chatting folks up. He made it a point to point out that business was happening and the markets were open, instead of closed when there was fighting between the National Police and the anti-government forces. Pretty cool. More folks in Iraq should do things like this.
Tomorrow is more briefings and area familiarization. Should be a hoot.
Fantasy Football update: I know I haven't updated my blog in a while, but last week was a huge week for Team Fritz. I left Team Wade further in the dust, moved up into contention for the money, and watched Team Mark not do so well. It has been reported that Team Mark has made some scientifically based trades, I hope they help, the grandma in the league is smoking him.
Running update: HUGE PROPS to JFord, my running buddy in DC. He scored me an Army Ten Miler Coin (I had a 5 year string of them going) and some running swag from the race. I hung the route map up in our gym, right across from the treadmill so I can imagine where I am running the Army Ten Miler every time I run on the treadmill. Thanks a ton, JFord.
Friday, October 3, 2008
One more week . . .
We are at the Iraqi Army National Training Center near Taji, Iraq for one more week of training. I have to say, it is very difficult to pay attention to most anything right now - - being so close to going out and doing our mission. Not too much to write about, most of our classes are reinforcements or reviews from classes that we had at FT Riley, there is a little more first hand experience added to the class as well as more up to date information in the classes. Unfortunately, the classes are literally scheduled from dawn til dusk: 0700 to 1930 or so. Very little time for PT.
That little snivel said, I did get a pretty good run in this morning around the compound. There were some areas that I thought were muddy, but it turns out the mud was a combination of oil and dirt. Initially I thought someone had spilled the oil there or it had been put there to keep the dust down, but it turns out it is oil that seeping up from underground. When folks say Iraq has the third largest reserve of oil, I believe them, it is literally seeping up all over the place. Anyway, about the run: Pretty much a steady run on the flat terrain (never thought I would say that I miss the sisters on Longstreet, but I do) around the camp, 30 minutes, probably around 4 miles, but I didn't wear the GPS to track the run. I figure it will blow it's little computer mind when my last run was in Nebraska and the next one is in Iraq.
Not much else to say, thanks for reading.
That little snivel said, I did get a pretty good run in this morning around the compound. There were some areas that I thought were muddy, but it turns out the mud was a combination of oil and dirt. Initially I thought someone had spilled the oil there or it had been put there to keep the dust down, but it turns out it is oil that seeping up from underground. When folks say Iraq has the third largest reserve of oil, I believe them, it is literally seeping up all over the place. Anyway, about the run: Pretty much a steady run on the flat terrain (never thought I would say that I miss the sisters on Longstreet, but I do) around the camp, 30 minutes, probably around 4 miles, but I didn't wear the GPS to track the run. I figure it will blow it's little computer mind when my last run was in Nebraska and the next one is in Iraq.
Not much else to say, thanks for reading.
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