Thanks to the efforts of one of our group members, Expats Against Bush was able to conduct the following interview, via email, with a National Guardsman in southern Iraq this week. I am keeping the soldier's identity anonymous until I can confirm whether or not he is comfortable to be named.
I should note that some of his answers to my questions will not jibe with the sensibilities of many of our members, but that's the nature of interviews - I have not altered or omitted any of his answers, and thus this represents an honest exchange with someone with boots on the ground in Iraq. I leave it to you to come to your own conclusions from the interview below.
The interview follows, with my questions in bold and his answers inline.
First of all, tell us a little bit about yourself if you're comfortable doing so. Who are you, what's your current situation/deployment, and how long have you been deployed?
I am 21 years old, and I was in my third year of college studying business and German when I was activated in March 2003. I joined the Wisconsin National Guard when I was 18 during my Freshman year of college. I received an Alert notice during my Valentine's Day date, and an activation notice 2 weeks later. After 2 months in substandard barracks at Ft. McCoy, WI my unit was sent to Kuwait for one month before moving into Southern Iraq during the beginning of June. I have remained on the same base since then. We are anticipating one year in theater (returning to the US in May).
Talk us through your typical day's work. What sort of thing does your unit do, and what's your role within it?
The unit I am in is a battalion of combat engineers, with about 500 soldiers. We contain combat engineers who do building jobs, string barbed wire, etc, as well as heavy equipment operators, mechanics, and support personnel such as clerks, supply specialists, cooks, etc. Since being sent to Iraq we have built a large basecamp complex including buildings, built and repaired roads, remodeled schools, repaired irrigation pumps for villages, trained elements of the new Iraqi Civil Defense Force, educated locals on the dangers of mines and unexploded ordnance, and provided security forces for other units and main supply routes.
My job is in Supply. It's not the sexiest job in the Army, but it serves me well. I put in an 8 hour work day in an office where I struggle with the Army's DOS based logistics system, hand out supplies and often horse trade with other units to get stuff we need (I'm ready to offer a first borne child to whoever can get me copy paper this week!) I also repair and maintain weapons and am responsible for the security of sensitive items (such as unassigned Night Vision equipment or communications gear)
I carry a M249 light machine gun as a personal weapon, so I get to go on missions as additional security quite a bit. I get to leave "the wire" of the main base at least once a week on average, sometimes more.
Do you get much contact with everyday Iraqis? If so, what's your take on them? What's their attitude to you? Has it changed over time?
This summer I had quite a bit of contact when I was going to two villages at least once a week to work on the irrigation pumps. The Iraqis I have contact with now are mostly laborers I'm assigned to guard while they are on base. In the southern region where I'm assigned the people are mostly Shi'ite Muslims, and were oppressed under the Saddam Hussein regime. The kids here know how to say "Saddam Muthafucka" and "Saddam Donkey," which are about the most positive things I've heard said about the man.
I think there was a bit of initial mistrust in the late Spring, but we have made a difference here with the schools, roads, bridges and other infrastructure we have rebuilt. I see the majority of people I pass on the road smiling and waving toward us these days, not because they want something, but because they are genuinely happy we are here.
I have been stuck in the middle of large demonstrations directed at the Americans and Italians in Nassiriyah. They were peaceful but powerful in their demands for more power, electricity, jobs and stability. The suicide bomb that struck the Italian Carribinierri compound in Nassiriyah shocked and outraged the locals. A week later the usual Saturday demonstrations were altered to 4 groups marching from different points in the city to the remains of the compound. They chanted slogans of solidarity with the Italians and coalition members. When they reached the compound they held several minutes of silence and then peacefully dispersed.
Do you feel like you're making progress with post-combat operations? Are they having a positive impact?
I feel that progress has definately been made. The villages that were subject to looting by gangs are more secure, the streets of Nassiriyah are much safer, and basic infrastructure is being repaired.
Do you and others in your unit feel secure? Have you been engaged or had to engage guerrilla or fedayeen elements? Have you had any IED attacks? Have you had casualties as a result of any of the above?
My camp on an airbase is secure. We feel very at home and safe. Outside of our secured area we take precautions to ensure our own safety, such as traveling in groups of vehicles, everyone being armed, all personell wearing body armor and helmets. The area in the country where I am stationed (in the south, near Nassiriyah) is generally safe. The only major incident has been a suicide bomb on the Italian compound in the middle of the city of Nassiriyah, which was an act performed by extremists from outside the region.
In my battalion there has been one incident during the early fall of a convoy in the Baghdad area being hit with an IED. The IED (Improvised Explosive Device) was a poorly constructed pipe bomb which did not detonate properly. It launched the end piece, which had been merely hammered in, instead of using a threaded end cap, into the grillwork of a truck, and the shock cracked the windshield. Nobody was injured. The driver of the truck has the end piece of the bomb on a chain as a souvenier.
To date we have suffered no casualties as a result of enemy activity. The hostile actions we deal with here are mostly criminal. We have Iraqis that are waiting for trucks to break down, or 'assisting' the process with nails or junk thrown onto the roadways, and then looting the trucks. In all honesty, there are more people out of action in this sector of the country due to sports injuries than enemy action.
What are your feelings on the relative lack of reporting on wounded and KIA troops being returned home?
I do not receive any newspapers other than Stars and Stripes, nor do I watch much TV over here. The Time magazines I receive are a month late. From the headlines I see online, it appears that casualties are adequately reported, and sometimes overemphasized. I think that having news cameras being stuck in the faces of grieving parents and spouses of those who die here is disgusting.
Do you feel like adequate planning was in place for Phase IV (post-combat) operations, the phase you're in now? Do you have all the resources you need?
I truly doubt that anyone could accurately anticipate the course of combat operations here. Rebuilding Iraq is difficult because of the highly deteriorated condition of the country in the first place. The power station near Nassiriyah looks like something out of the 30's, and under Saddam the people of Nassiriyah only received a few hours of electricity each day (the rest was diverted North toward Baghdad).
Virtually everything in this country was of a jury rigged or very hollow nature. The golden faucets in Saddam's palaces were cheap gold plated metal or plastic, and they leaked. The helmets that Army troops wore were paper thin fibreglass that would not stop a rock being thrown. Virtually everything we saw before the war was hollow propaganda.
As far as having the supplies we need for the operations we are doing goes, there is a lot of room for improvement. The vehicles we have are not designed for the tasks we're given. We've had engineers running patrols in dump trucks. There were not adequate mounts for crew served weapons on our trucks. Getting spare parts, office supplies and other neccesities can be a headache at times.
The greatest thing going for the US Army right now is our ability to adapt and improvise. The Army didn't provide us with any shower facilities, so we built our own. We didn't have enough gun mounts for our trucks, so we got some welded out of scrap metal to bolt into trucks. Our mechanics have built vehicles from spare parts canibalized from junked trucks, built water trailers out of old oil tanks and repaired abandoned equipment to use. The soldiers here, especially in the guard and reserve, constantly call upon skills from the civilian world. We relied on the professional contractors, plumbers, electricians, engineers and architects in the unit when it came to construction projects.
Do you feel that more or less troops will be needed in the next year? Do you think the timeline of turning over power to an Iraqi-led government by next summer is realistic?
I am honestly not in a position to even speculate. I don't foresee a need for as many troops in the future, but I personally feel it will take more than five to ten years for this country to have a stable government and functional economy.
Finally, although some of us disagree for the reasons you were all sent over there, we're all proud of you guys and want to thank you for your hard work. If you have anything else you'd like to add, fire away.
I don't feel that many of the protesters really understand the situation here. I'm here and I don't pretend to fully understand it. The people calling for US troops to pull out of Iraq are foolish. This place would go to hell in a minute if it were not for the stability that troops provide. I believe that the individuals who came to Iraq as human shields should be imprisoned.
If people are looking for something to protest, they should look at the inequality between services in the military. When my battalion arrived at the airbase where we are stationed in June, we were eating MREs and T-Rats (shelf stable bulk rations) for two months. I was camped atop an abandoned building for the first two and a half months I was here. There were no air conditioners available until late summer for our tents. Meanwhile the Air Force ate real food in air conditioned tents, worked out in a gym with A/C, and fenced off their compound from the rest of the services. This issue continues today with Air Force security teams driving armored humvees that never leave the base, armed with heavy machine guns, wearing body armor that contains the plates to stop assault rifle rounds. There is a major shortage of armored humvees and body armor plates, which requires people sent to dangerous areas of the country to wear insufficient body armor and ride in open vehicles with no protection against small arms fire or explosives.
As much as I and the people around me have bitched about being here, complained about the Army and more than once joked about nuking this place and punching through the glass for the oil, we are doing something significant here. I don't personally buy the War on Terrorism. I think we'll find the missing Weapons of Mass Destruction hidden in a cave along with Osama Bin Laden and the Easter Bunny. You can bet your ass I did not vote for Bush, and that most of us here have said that we won't in 2004.
I personally feel that the media is only telling the stories that they want to tell about Iraq. If I hear any more about the PFC Jessica Lynch story (which is the only reason people can find Nassiriyah on a map) I'll vomit. I'm glad to see that they have finally decorated the soldier on that convoy who knocked out several mortars and saved the remainder of the group. All I have seen in the headlines has been soldiers dying or being wounded. The media is not reporting the soldiers who rebuild schools, help out villagers, provide medical care, bring order to chaos and truly make a difference in the lives of people here.
One last thing. If there are any more conspiracy theorists out there, looking for a real reason the Bush administration started the war, look into the stock prices of Kellog Brown and Root (KBR) and their parent company Halliburton Inc. If anyone wants to get a piece of the pie and earn at least 8 times as much as a soldier, look into a job with KBR.
I want to thank the soldier in question for taking the time to answer the questions so fully and honestly, and I would also like to thank our special EAB member (you know who you are) for paving the way for the interview to take place.
Recent Comments