December 6
Today we got up early for what we thought would be a mission up into the mountains for a couple hours. So, we skipped breakfast, thinking we’d be back for lunch, or at least dinner. When we arrived, we were told that we’d be going with a platoon of guys who were guarding a police station in the city for 12 hours. Definitely should have eaten.
We drove into the city in Strykers… if you’re wondering about the vehicle, it’s the armored vehicle the Stryker Brigade here uses, I think I have some pictures posted. Anyway, we arrived at the police station and the vehicles set up positions and we got out with the dismounts to set up an overwatch over the city.
These guys do this every day, some platoon is always there pulling guard for 12 hour shifts.
We went around talking to the Soldiers and taking photos as they watched the city and interacted with the locals and the Iraqi police who live in the area. There were a lot of kids, as usual, who came out from who knows where after we arrived. It’s always sad to see the kids, because they are often more educated than the adults, but are always dressed in tattered clothes and trying to sell you something or wanting you to give them something. The Stryker guys brought a bunch of stuff to hand out, but it doesn’t last very long and the kids are always coming back for more.
It was a pretty quiet day. There were some explosions and gunfire in the city, but nothing close to where we were.
I ate the first MRE I’ve had to eat in a long time. Most of the time I’d rather starve, but I picked at one because I was so hungry. To me, all of the food tastes like one big preservative, it’s gross.
At mid-afternoon, the mortar platoon came in to set up a mortar position and launch mortars over the city as a show of force. Even though they shoot into the mountains, the fact that the terrorists can see that we’re willing and able to set that much fire power out there is somewhat of a deterrent. And shooting into the mountains guarantees that innocent civilians are not hurt. Just to be sure, before and after each round is fired, they have eyes on the target area to make sure nobody is in the area.
So, the guys asked if I wanted to "hang" a round. Of course I do. The awesome part about my job is that I get to see and do a little of everything. They showed me how to lift the round, where to place it and what to do when I dropped it into the tube, and there I went, hanging a mortar over a city in Iraq. They were like, "I think you’re the first girl we’ve ever let do this." Hmmm… there I go, defying Army norms again.
The rest of the day went about the same, except it was cold as hell. It was chilly the whole day, but the minute the sun went down, it got really cold. Good thing I brought my fleece jacket, gloves, neck gator and hat with me.
By the end, I was just looking forward to eating something when I got back to camp. They had hot chow waiting for us since the chow hall was closed, and I ate sooo much food.
One more day gone by…
11 Comments:
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