"I'm leaving on a jet plane"

All,

This will be my last blog while in Iraq. Our replacement team just arrive this week and they are already eager to take over... more power to them, bc they can have it. I feel a lot like coming home from a mission, but not so socially disorientated. I'm still my old Clint self, but I will always be grateful for the things i have seen, heard, and experience. I felt like I grew up a little here. As a great relief to my parents, i have decided that i want to get married, start a family, and settle down a bit. As many of you know, I will be heading to Monterey CA to study Chinese for the military lasting around 2 years. the job Im gunning for a Chinese Foreign Affairs officer, working as a liaison between the Chinese and US government. For the first time i feel like i have a solid future. I wouldn't trade my time here for the world... ok I'd prob give it up for a buck 99 and a microwave, bc i just remembered all the nasty sandstorms, heat, and disappointments.

I feel like i have some stories to tell my grand kids and something for my family to be proud of. If/when i go to Afghanistan, i'll be better prepared. I'll be ready, I'll be prepared, and I'll be willing to serve my country when it calls for it.

Hit by an IED in Mosul

something crazy happened to me today. we were in mosul about to head to this iraqi base and my team got hit by an IED. it wasnt a big one and everyone is ok, but shook us up a bit. It hit right in front of my vehicle spraying the veh in front of me. and we saw the guy who detonated it running so we opened fire- but couldnt confirm if we got him. it was just like the movies, but A LOT LOUDER in real life. I remember i could feel the impact of the blast and some of the gunners on top of veh got damage to their ears and possible concussion. but all in all, we are good... except for my PTSD that i have now... jk. but seriously thank the Lord that the terrorist dude was too dumb to pack more TNT in that bomb, and that his timing was slightly off on detonation. we got lucky bc it could have been way worse, bc really the most dangerous thing is to have a small bomb like that go off and then while you are focused on that explosion, a car bomb comes at you from behind. THAT is what i was scared of, and as the last veh in the team, and after getting out of the "kill zone"i made sure my gunner was ok and then told him to watch for ANY car near and if light them up if he sees anything. luckly, nothing came.

infact that was just a horrible neighborhood bc and hour after that a car bomb went off and small arms fire after that, who knows that car bomb could have been for us and the retarded guy messed up the timing- who knows but we are cool- except that we got to go on this retarded mission tom in a bad news town. whatever- its going to be crazy as all the CFs are getting out of the cities and the iraqis are starting to take over. infact, all the terrorist are prob video tapping these attacks and claim that they are pushing out the infidels!... what a bunch of crap...

anyway- Just a bad day in mosul.

My Welcome home and those that fell

If any of you have experienced server turbulence on a flight you might be able to relate. So on the combat flight from Baghdad to Mosul, the pilot is required to do something called a combat landing. So right when you feel the C-130 (which is just a school bus with wings- with all your battle rattle on and cramped up like sardines) start to descend you know its coming, but this one was crazy. the plane will (on purpose) take a dive, shift from left to right and basically fly around like cracked out moth. well the first dive felt like a free fall ride like at 6 flags and lasted about 15 secs. the crazy part was that i heard a big bang right before the pilot initiated the fall so i was thinking that we got shot and that we were GOING DOWN! i remember the guy across from me was freaking out and as we were hovering in mid-air, he was trying to grab anything he could, including my leg. I guess i was freaked out, but what could i do at that point but laugh at the guy across from me (which i did). after we leveled out again, i asked if he needed to change his pants. it was funny.

So i got back to my duty location and sat down my gear and my team said mount up, bc we were going out to conduct some raids. but let me back up...

You may have heard (mom i know you did) about some killings that happened in my area. what happened is that in a base that we go to all the time an iraqi soldier entered a US area and just started shooting killing 2 and wounding many. Now i heard about this when i was grounded in Baghdad with the platoon leader of the guys who got attacked. he was freaking out and blamed himself. And i can tell you that the scariest thing is not to personally get killed or hurt, but actually it is NOT being there when your men or battle buddy does. that's really what i was worried about the most (and especially bc i knew about all the craziness that happening to our team right before i left) before i left on leave. But i consoled him at the time saying that it wasn't his guys and that the area was big with a lot of forces around, and really anything i could say to keep the guy calm. Bc at the time, we only had limited info. But it was his guys and i feel for him.

So right when i got back, my team told me that the Iraqis needed help to role up the key planners and bad guys in that area. Now it seems that it was just one guy that shot those men.... WRONG, think of all of these terrorist acts as an iceberg, where you only see the action take place or tip of the berg, but like ALL operations its way bigger then what you just see.

(Sorry to be so vague, but its for a reason) Knowing what happened and after looking at the Intel i was MORE THAN HAPPY to go get these guys. so hours after i got back into my AO, I was in the back of an Iraqi truck conducting raids on some of the key targets in that area. It was crazy bc this was by far the most dangerous thing i have done yet in this country and i was doing it right when i came back from leave!?!? I mean when i was in Europe, i kinda even forgot i was in the army and Iraq seemed like a distant memory. but i was shoved right back into the mess.

I was working with a commando team and they were all cool, but tired bc they hadn't slept for almost 2 days. so they were a little cranky and ready to kill someone. We hit houses and building all day all over this town, looking everywhere for these criminals. as an example of the stress involved, we hit this one house and rolled a guy who knew our targets and we had to "force" him to show us where the guy was hiding. While that was going on a drunk neighbor started shouting threats to the commandos. Well they were not having any of that. and before my interpreter could tell me what was going on, the commandos jumped the guy's fence and cocking there weapons and wrestling this drunk dude to the ground and searching his house. Now, you need to realize that this entire area are known insurgent supporters and basically the terrorist key leader neighborhood, NOT just a walk around meeting people and asking questions. I mean the area had its own little terrorist army hidden within the local populous. so any threat was taken seriously and squashed on site. Another example is that we went into a house of iraqi police man who knew and had the ID card of this guy we were looking for. We questioned him for a while and quickly found out that his loyalties were not with his country, but the hidden insurgents in the town. THAT is how corrupt this place is; even the good guys are covering for the bad guys. So we tied him up, blind folded him and threw him in the back of a truck for hours traveling all around town, then at the end of the day dropped him off in a field somewhere- serves him right. should have cooperated.

I can only equate the mission as something you would see in the movies and i got to kick doors and detain our targets. Raids are fun and a def adrenaline rush. So this was an all day thing and even into to the night, and i am more then happy to report that we got our guys. so rare is it that a unit has the privilege of getting those directly responsible for attacking and killing them. Usually the guy, after he attacks you, fades into the background and doenst re-appear for while until he does it again- at least the smart ones. but we got all of them and mom that is your Mothers Day present. You can sleep well tonight.

Exusted and sleep deprived, we turned the guys into the Iraqis and my only prayer is that they do the right thing and take all the evidence and guy to get tried and locked away. after all we can only do so much bc of the SOFA. but i think (mostly bc of our high interest in the case) they are seeing justice.

The next day i went to memorial of the 2 soldiers that were KIA. It was truly a sobering experience and will never forget it. i knew one of the guys after working with him on other missions. The CAV (the unit they belonged to) gave a professional and heartfelt service and his battle buddies were able to say goodbye is there way after (seeing them laughing, drinking redbull, and eat pizza in the PX area). The thing i found surprising is that the word got out that our team rolled up those guys and we received many thanks and appreciation for the actions we did the day prior. It was nice to do my part to honor those have paid the ultimate price of freedom.

the pic attached is when we were turning these guys in to the iraqis. "Bad boys, bad boys, what you gonna do, what you gonna do when i come for you...!"

Leave

Sooooo- im back now in the desert and it is def hotter then when i left it. my time away from this ordeal was refreshing and badly needed.

When i got to Kuwait i was told to change into civilain clothes and that was strange to be in pants again. I flew out of kuwait airport and took pics so my dad could see the difference of that back in 1992 when he fought his way into that same city. the flights i took had less and less military personnel until it was just me in alone in Amsterdam.

The next day my buddy flew in and it was on. we rented bikes and rode all over that city seeing the van gough museum, Rembrandt, and just reveling in the fact that i wasnt in iraq. the canals were amazing and we took a river tour all round the town with all the beautiful architecture all over the city. in iraq i have been hitting the gym and dieting pretty hard, but there i ate and ate and ate until i couldn't eat anymore... then i had dessert! the food was awesome. of course i felt naked without my 9mm pistol that i ALWAYS have on me here, but prob that i didnt have it.

It was kinda weird being around so many civilians and especially the chicks... but dont worry i was able to talk to many beautiful babies:) I tried my best not to talk shop, and in fact my cover story was that i was an English teacher from monterey CA. not far from the truth but you cant be too careful of bad guys. but when i was comfortable i told my story to those who were interested. One night i met a chick from Afghanistan and after a while i told her what i really did. we talked for hours about the situation in the middle east. she admitted that her family moved to the Netherlands bc the Taliban threatened her family when she was young. she had only heard bad things about the US in her country but after a heartfelt talk about my frustrations and intents with the war she started to understand what we were trying to do here. I shared some of my near misses and stories of corruption, murder, and death.... but that might have been a bit too much bc her friend that was with her started crying (bc she had a boyfriend coming here next month). well i tried to console her but then the Afghan chick started crying.... well after seeing that my job was done (by ruining their night) i quickly said that i was lying and that i really was janitor in Detroit and i didn't know anything... its sick but i kinda thought it was funny. chicks are so emotional.

Then it was off to the mini cruise from amsterdam to new castle, England. the cruise was awesome and the ocean view and breeze felt good on the soul. new castle was a trip and i couldn't stop mocking the English accent. i ate my weight in fish and chips. I knew nothing about new castle, but we were on a quest to find the "castle" part of new castle. it took some doing and after asking a bunch of the locals (which nobody knew of a castle) but we found it and stormed the gate and ran to the top and claimed the castle ours. (but prob the worst day to forget a camera).

my buddy was running low on $$ and so we took the mini cruise back to amsterdam with a plan to go to Spain. on the way back though i met a couple of girls who worked on the ship and after a while they invited me to the VIP lounge and they showered my with questions of the war and my experience. then the captain of the ship came in and kicked me out.... hater!

bc of low fundage my buddy didnt want to go Barcelona- fag. so we stayed in the dam and prob was a good decision bc it was queens day weekend. the streets were flooded with so many festivals and people from everywhere. it was the time that queen came to stay in her palace in amsterdam and tradition was that the people are to come out on the streets and celebrate. there was traditional music, reggae, jazz, and all sorts of out door concerts. was soooo incredible. but all too soon i found myself on a plane ride back to kuwait and eventually the dust storm hell hole of mosul iraq.

was def an experience to remember and so was the welcome home i got... more to follow

im out!

well im off to europe in a couple days for some well deserved RnR. Im meeting a buddy out there and then plan to go to a couple different cities like amsterdam, paris, rome, prauge, who knows... cant wait

i was nervous bc yesterday i had my last patrol through mosul and fearing Murphy's law, i grateful to report that nothing happened then, but unfortunately in the same exact place where we were stopped at, a huge car bomb went off with several KIA and WIA. happy it wasn't me, but remorseful for though who did get hit. the bad news is that when i get back from leave, we have to go to mosul a lot more to meet with some iraqi dudes up there so :(

but all is fair in love and war.. unless they use suicide bomber- then they are just retarded.

talk to you all later skaters.....

toe to toe with the Godfather

so i have told you about the iraqi army working like the mafia- well this was the first time i ever felt real danger from them, or should i say him... the Godfather.

in order to practice good operational security, i'll leave out some details, but here was the situation.

there i was, talking with the only honest officer in our iraqi unit. he was overly nervous that day like any minute he would find out that he was going to be squashed out by the godfather, or worst, his family. we were mid-conversation about our plan to get him out of the impossible situation he was in, which was, in laymans terms, get dirty, or get dying. the problem was that he was an honest man, he did not partake nor approve of the crimes that went on in the unit. he was 10xs the officer in both brains and courage then the godfather, who bought his way up to his position by shaddy deals and dark promises.

As we were talking about these things a knock came to the door and the godfather came in with a scowl on his face. he asked me what we were talking about and i made up something about training or something. but what i really wanted to say was that he was a crook. a cheater and he should be ashamed of his command, and that he belong in jail, or better off, dead (and i would be willing to act on the latter- if only he gave me a real reason) well he asked me to step in the hall and his personal protective guard (all 3 of them) all stepped closer toward me. My spider sense went off and i gripped my 9mm pistol and my mind went into a Jason bourne type thought of who i would shoot first, exit stratagies, etc... (ok im not bourne, but i was ready to rumble). he looked at me and i had to stare back at him, mostly bc if he wanted to have it out, i was ready. but he wanted me to come to his office and i declined saying that i had to get back to my HQ and that they were expecting me. he kept staring at me like he was trying to read my mind... "you got nothing", i thought, but most importantly i was trying to deflect his supision and anger from my counterpart, the honest officer. I think i successfully negotiation this task by talking about the newest fine looking women i spotted on the American side of the base. a crass move i know, but nothing can distract the guy like talk of the opposite sex. after an episode of light banter, and after the pressure was off my counterpart, i made my exit.

a little background of why this would take place:

our iraqi unit that we are (which is rather large) is filled to the teeth with known corrupt leaders, and for months they have become more prideful, defiant, and reckless with their real intentions. at least before, they would fake the funk to maintain the fasawd of cooperation with coalition forces and the freedom/stability of Iraq. but its gotten more and more dangerous and i'll tell you why...

the American people wanted a withdrawal date of troops in iraq from Washington- well fine and thats just dandy for the american people, BUT THAT DECISION IS PUTTING SOLDIERS AT RISK! I dont blame the pres and by my oath as an officer submit to his orders and decisions. But just trying to inform you of why that is a bad move for the guy on the ground (me and my brother cyle) and tactically unsound.

Just think about it, if i was an insurgent, with my main goal being to create a society of unrest, why would i fight the guys with bigger guns and better trained (not to mention better looking:)) soldiers when i could just wait, scheme, and plan my mouse attack after the cats have left.

but why do they want unrest?!?!? why dont they want the american values of peace, freedom, and the presute of happiness?? its all about vengeance, power, and money. whoever holds the most money, has the most power, and therefore can wage the most vengeance for how they were wronged when they were marginalized.... WTF right!

the sunnis are pissed bc they are out of power and their before abused pet, the shia are now holding the majority in the gov positions, and are taking revenge on the sunni "bastards" that abused them for so long under sadaam's rule. well the sunnis, now powerless want back their precious power and now finding themselves in an unforgiving situation, find that if they can prove to the people that the shia are doing a bad job being in charge, that people will demand them to take back control and establish their party as the power in iraq. and im not even talking about the kurds yet, who hate both of them and just want their own county.

now i need to be fair and say that i am only really talking about a small small percentage of the population of iraq. most iraqis really are peace loving, brotherly loving, Muslims desiring the freedom of that we offer. but the few ruin it for the whole.