Monday, May 23, 2005
From The Horse's Mouth In Iraq
Heard from my friend Jared in Iraq again -- the news is all godd, so I have to share"
Sunday we are headed for Tal Afar!!! We have completed our portion of Task Force IED and Task Force Bullet. It is good to see the impact that we have had on the city of Mosul. When we first arrived and assigned TF IED, we had 6-9 missions each day with numerous attacks each day. We were shot at twice a day minimum as we went from site to site and often when were were dismounted trying to neutralize an IED. We've had rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) shot at us as well as mortars land near us and I every vehicle in our convoy has been hit by at least 1 IED. However, in the past month, we have not been shot at or had an IED go off. We have destroyed more weapons than would fit in 15 dump trucks!! What you're not hearing on CNN (Communist News Network) is local intelligence is reporting that the insurgents are frustrated and moving because they don't have the amount of explosives that they used to...it's all been taken away from them. They are having to cool their heels while their counterparts attempt to gather and bring more into the country. All the while, the Iraqi government is strengthening and their police and military are becoming a stronger force to deal with.
Now we move to Tal Afar...roughly 30 km west of Mosul and not far from the Syria border. Our mission will be to work with the 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment who have M1 Abrams tanks and Bradley Scout vehicles to conduct counter-IED patrols, weapon cache searches, and cordon and searches. In English, this means we will seal off areas of Tal Afar, go door to door looking for weapons, and use military equipment to search for hidden or buried weapons as well as use military equipment to find IED's which have been placed. Here in Mosul, we would respond to units that had found IED's to neutralize, now we are looking for them ourselves and destroying them.
The guys are really excited for a new mission. By far, 1st platoon has set the record for the entire Battalion for combat patrols, enemy contact, and confirmed enemy kills. We have been very blessed to have given out 5 Purple Hearts (for injury in combat) but have had all soldiers standing and still mission capable when receiving the awards.
Sure does paint a different picture than the press! I like it.
Sunday we are headed for Tal Afar!!! We have completed our portion of Task Force IED and Task Force Bullet. It is good to see the impact that we have had on the city of Mosul. When we first arrived and assigned TF IED, we had 6-9 missions each day with numerous attacks each day. We were shot at twice a day minimum as we went from site to site and often when were were dismounted trying to neutralize an IED. We've had rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) shot at us as well as mortars land near us and I every vehicle in our convoy has been hit by at least 1 IED. However, in the past month, we have not been shot at or had an IED go off. We have destroyed more weapons than would fit in 15 dump trucks!! What you're not hearing on CNN (Communist News Network) is local intelligence is reporting that the insurgents are frustrated and moving because they don't have the amount of explosives that they used to...it's all been taken away from them. They are having to cool their heels while their counterparts attempt to gather and bring more into the country. All the while, the Iraqi government is strengthening and their police and military are becoming a stronger force to deal with.
Now we move to Tal Afar...roughly 30 km west of Mosul and not far from the Syria border. Our mission will be to work with the 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment who have M1 Abrams tanks and Bradley Scout vehicles to conduct counter-IED patrols, weapon cache searches, and cordon and searches. In English, this means we will seal off areas of Tal Afar, go door to door looking for weapons, and use military equipment to search for hidden or buried weapons as well as use military equipment to find IED's which have been placed. Here in Mosul, we would respond to units that had found IED's to neutralize, now we are looking for them ourselves and destroying them.
The guys are really excited for a new mission. By far, 1st platoon has set the record for the entire Battalion for combat patrols, enemy contact, and confirmed enemy kills. We have been very blessed to have given out 5 Purple Hearts (for injury in combat) but have had all soldiers standing and still mission capable when receiving the awards.
Please continue to pray for us as we head to this new location. We will be packed in rather tight with 27 guys in 8 rooms which normally hold 2 guys apiece, the missions will be tough and dangerous, and many of the guys are feeling the effects of being away from home. I had all of the soldiers write down some of the lessons they've learned so far from being deployed. Here is a list of some of the comments:
- Don't take life for granted
- There are other people that I can depend on and I'm not alone; I'm part of a team
- How much my family means to me
- teamwork and relying on others as they rely on me
- IEDs hurt
- innocent children really are the root of mankind. If you look into the eyes of a child, there still is hope and happiness in this world
- look out for your teammate, because he's looking out for you!
- Prayer keeps us protected!
I continue to pray that God blesses each of you. Know that God hears every prayer and responds in His way. Your prayers are felt all the way on the other side of the planet!
For God and Country, Jared
Sure does paint a different picture than the press! I like it.
