All,
This is an email forwarded to us from an old friend of ours back in Chicago. His brother penned the original email, talking about his arrival in Iraq for his tour of duty.
My favorite part of the email is "Thank you for all the prayers but make them for these guys and the people of Iraq who want to taste the freedoms and comforts of security we enjoy."
I don't know Lt Colonel Haviland, but I wish him God Speed in getting home safe and staying out of harm's way.
Dated 8 July 2006
All,
Thank you everyone for all the e-mails. Sorry for the mass update letter here but the 30 min computer time limit at the Internet trailer is a problem for us slow typers. No promises on future updates but here's the rundown on what I've seen so far.
The trip over was fairly brutal. We left on a Sunday and arrived on a Tuesday afternoon. 45 hours either on the plane or in a terminal with stops on the East Coast, Europe, 2 in the Middle East and then Balad Iraq. Needless to say, the cot/bed in my tent when I got there was looking pretty sweet. I wasn't even concerned with the rat domiciled underneath my air conditioner as long as he didn't mess with the thermostat. The tent was only temporary until our trailers opened up. (Lots of folks in & out) The trailers, which they call "Pods are pretty decent. Kind of like a small dorm rooms. Most of the facilities on the Base are either trailers or tents. The original Iraqi buildings are used for various operations and department office space. There are about 19 trees on base and all located around the Headquarters Building.
Balad is located in the Sunni triangle about 35 miles north of Baghdad.
It was previously an Iraqi MIG Base and remnants of that history are scattered throughout the complex. It's a full-up airfield with all four services represented to include Iraqi and civilian contractors. The Army takes care of the base perimeter and the only time I go outside the wire is while strapped in an airplane.
The biggest threat is the daily mortar and rocket attacks the bad guys shoot at the base. There is a fairly robust warning/detection system in place that sounds "incoming, incoming," and with all the sandbag and cement bunkers everywhere there's plenty of places to dive into when required. KBR, which is a Haliburton company, has done a good job of enclosing all the facilities with concrete walls and blast protection. Our living area looks like a concrete maze. So as long as you don't get boinked on the noggin going to the chow hall or the latrine you should be pretty safe. Everyone just goes about their business and when stuff gets blown up. We sweep up the mess/fix it and press on. (fortunately, the bad guys aim isn't very good.....yet!)
On the flying side it's a very busy place. We're running a 24/7 operation.
I pretty much work, eat and sleep in no set pattern. We provide support to our ground troops (essentially their "Big Stick" if needed). Everyday/night I fly over all these cities I see tons of traffic, people out & about, most of the lights on, and farmers working their fields in the rural areas. It's difficult to correlate the situation here with what you see on the News in the states. There are a lot of bad guys to be sure however, when you see a the dozens of acts of violence (car bombs/roadside bombs/attacks) in a single day and then see how large this country is (about twice the size of Illinois) with it's 27 million people, it puts some perspective on the situation. For the most part, the areas north & south have stabilized and many have been turned over to Iraqi control. The majority of the "Hot Spots" have contracted in and around Baghdad within about 50 miles.
While the Iraqi Security Forces don't have all the tools yet to "go it alone" they have made some huge progress. I'll spare you my analysis of the political and strategic complexities, and save the soapbox for a night on the deck with a few bottles of vino. Suffice to say, I think the Iraqi Government will be on fragile ground for some time.
We have some Iraqis who work at the base for various contractors. I haven't had a heart to heart talk with any of them but they seem to be friendly and happy to have a job. On the 4th of July, I was getting ready to takeoff on a mission and as I taxied past a group of about 10 Iraqi contractors working near the runway (they have Army guards with them) I tipped them a small salute thinking I could get a couple of them to wave. Not only did they wave but everyone of them stopped what they were doing and gave me the over-the-head, two-fisted whoo!-whoo! - big smiles on their faces. So either they're really happy we're here or that was a customary cheer meaning, "we hope you crash you infidel bastard." ........... I'm going with happy.
I'm sure they see what we do daily here at the base and work out in the communities. Schools, hospitals, roads and infrastructure projects continue despite repeated harassment attacks from insurgents.
One thing I didn't expect is the quality of the food. The Army runs 4 chow halls on base and you name it, it's on the menu! I don't know where they get it but its fresh, pretty tasty, and lots of it. What could make Americans happier than good free food? And of course, we have a Pizza Hut &
Subway (trailer / not free).
I need to run for now. I hope you're all enjoying the cool summer there.
Our troops are doing good work here and we're rollin-up the bad guys one at a time in many cases. They guys that deserve the most credit are our young soldiers and marines who patrol the streets, escort the convoys, and man the security checkpoints. They are constant targets in the crap each day and remind us through their losses how serious and difficult our task.
Thank you for all the prayers but make them for these guys and the people of Iraq who want to taste the freedoms and comforts of security we enjoy.
Thanks for the e-mails.
Take care all and I'll see you in the fall!
Dean
(In Balad)
Machinef16@yahoo.com
Lt. Col Dean W. Haviland
USAF/332 EFS
APO AE 09315-9997
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