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Peace Of Mind
One of our biggest missions lately is convoy security. Our greatest
threat is coming from non-compliant forces (mostly Iraqi's) attacking our convoys with small arms and rocket-propelled
grenades and using IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) against us. When a convoy has an AH-64D Apache Longbow Attack
Helicopter flying over it providing security and overwatch, the attacks do not occur. Go figure. 10/19/03
Exploding Unexploded Ordnance
As if on cue (see 15 OCT picture), someone from 1st Brigade Combat Team
(1BCT) snapped this shot of a controlled destruction of UneXploded Ordnance (UXO). Now you can actually see what I was
describing. Nearly every day, the engineers collect old ammunition and blow it up in place. Like I mentioned before,
there are cache sites everywhere, so they will be quite busy for some time to come. 10/20/03
Then And Now
I was going to wait a while to send out this picture, but then I received
a couple of responses about this web site from some World War II Veterans. They proudly talked about the units they
served in nearly 60 years ago like it was yesterday. The honors and lineage afforded to their units especially
by individual soldiers like themselves is unprecedented. I will always wear the mighty 4th Infantry Division combat
patch with pride. 10/21/03
A Reason For Being Here
An average Iraqi child tries to sell cheap cigarettes to a passing convoy.
The majority of the children in this country do not have a whole lot. Most have family, friends, and life, but
they do not have hope for a future. A few facts: roughly 21% of the population have had primary education, 12%
have had secondary education, and only 4% have received undergraduate or post-graduate education. Let us hope that a
free Iraq and democracy will lead to drastic improvements in those percentages. 10/22/03
As Far As You Can See
What extends out farther: the earth or all of the storage bunkers
in Iraq? Ammunition and miscellaneous storage bunkers are strewn all over the desert here. Some on our own forward
operating base still contained a lot of unused ammunition. 10/23/03
1-4 ATKHB TOC
Old glory flying high over the 1-4 Aviation Attack Helicopter Battalion
(ATKHB) tactical operations center (TOC) back in September. As the door states, our Battalion Commander is Lieutenant
Colonel (LTC) James Muskopf and the Command Sergeant Major is Command Sergeant Major (CSM) Wagdi Mabrouk. Although most
of our tentage and camouflage is woodland (green) in color, having camouflage over the main structure drastically cut down
on the heat inside the TOC. 10/24/03
The Ridge
And you thought all of Iraq was flat. The Jabal Hamrin Ridge is the
only prominent terrain feature in central Iraq. It runs northwest to southeast and on clear days you can see it
from more than 30 miles away. 10/25/03
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