Soldier's Diary/The Last 24 Hours In Iraq

[HawkDriver]

K, here's a couple from our trip to Al Kut (FOB Delta) the other day I promised I'd post. Just an airfield in the middle of nowhere. It sucks there fo sho. The infantry guys gave us this abandoned hummer to cruise around in on the fob. They obviously don't use it for anything and we all thought it was one that they had found on the side of the road somewhere. With all the shit packed up on it with us hanging off it we looked like the beverly hillbillies.

Here's a pic of a hawk at Kalsu in the sunrise.

[HawkDriver]

Here's an Apache Longbow at sunset. One of my Crew Chiefs, Armando "Pancho" Villa on the BIAP Tarmac as a C-130 rolls in. And a typical dusty LZ.

[HawkDriver]

Here are a few I have of some sweet lookin Cruisers who gave their lives during a mortar attack.

[HawkDriver]

There is where I spend entirely too much time waiting for passengers to get on and off.

And these are just a few Iraqis along with their personal security detachment. Notice the kid in one hand and AK in the other....

[HawkDriver]

The first one should be what it looks like when an RPG goes through a stabilator (big wing in the back) and doesn't explode.

The lucky fuckers got a direct hit on this one in parking with a mortar and you can see where it came in by the engine exhaust then blew the hell out of the tail section.

[Blue Phoenix]

Here are some pictures.....This one of Salman Paq, a farming town southeast of Baghdad, down the barrel of a Ma Deuce.

[Blue Phoenix]

The first is of me on a roof looking over a road we always get contact on.
The second is the aftermath of a car with two dudes that thought it could get away with laying IEDs with Apaches over head. They hit it with two rockets.
The third is in stark contrast to the type of environment we are in now. No people. No cars. No one but bad people. This street is named WILD for a reason. Over the course of a month our company alone hit 6 IEDs along this route. No one was injured badly in any.

[Mars]

Awesome pics. Much appreciated. Keep them coming!

[HawkDriver]

These last ones are from back in the earlier part of the deployment when we had a pretty significant emotional event in our company when one of our own was shot down. All of my brothers made it out safely thank god but the story is quite remarkable.

In short they were engaged by multiple Heavy Machine Gun points as well as small arms fire. In broad daylight over a rural farming area that we would transition regularly, they took multiple rounds to the engine and the 37mm rounds pierced the floor's armor paneling. Fragments hit one of the passengers in the lower back causing some minor bleeding but that was the worst of the injuries that anyone received thanks to the quick actions of the crew. Rounds had disabled the audio from the ICS system so no one could talk to eachother and they couldn't even hear the low rotor and fire warnings. Luckily Jamie saw the indications on the instruments amid all of the chaos and manipulated the controls as such to get the rotor back up to RPM and start single engine airspeed as he looked for somewhere to land. Meanwhile a fire broke out from that engine area to inside where the pax were, the crew chiefs handed back their fire extinguishers, which are small and only meant for personnel, to put out the fire. They got the blaze under control long enough to get it on the ground without burning it in and immediately got out of the bird and pulled up security in hopes that their sister ship had even noticed that they weren't in the flight anymore.

As they stood there in the fields not knowing what kind of enemy might be coming onto them they were relieved to hear the sounds of the rotors of the Hawk getting closer. As all of this was going on the lead bird had heard the gunfire and turned back to try to locate them because they weren't talking on the radios. They spotted the smoke over a K away and immediately headed to it. They did a pass and took a few rounds of small arms fire as they made their approach. They swooped in and all of my boys and pax jumped on board while Jamie's bird continued to smoke and they got up outta there. Later that night the almighty CH47 swung into action and got to do what they love to, sling a BlackHawk home.

When I heard the news and met up with my buds I was just in disbelief and couldn't quit shaking my head at how lucky I was to be standing here talking to them still. Jamie Gordon did some superb piloting and what he was supposed to do and saved the lives of a number of great Americans. He's one of my heroes and I am so lucky to be graced by his presence along with the other members of his crew, and for that matter, all the fighting men and women that I am surrounded by in our countries fighting forces.

I know this is but one small story compared to the many brave and heroic things that are going on all over this place on a daily basis and I want to express my gratitude to those who are outside the wire fighting for what's right. Keep up the good fight and god bless you guys.

And to all of my fallen camrades, I pray that god may bless your souls and that your families may be blessed and taken care of by the ones who are left. Thank you

Sorry, it's hard to stop once it starts coming with me...

[Blue Phoenix]

The first in this series is me pulling security for dismounts on the ground from a large house.
The second is some of the guys taking advantage of some down time at the old Combat Outpost.
And the third is of an Abrams Tank...I still cant get over watching them everytime I see them. Its quite a sight seeing one of these going down the road at about 50.

[Blue Phoenix]

This is an answer for those LC requests...
First is contractor vehicles with TJM bumpers that stand up to much necessary abuse in traffic.
Second is sadly the case for MANY Iraqi Police vehilces. The back is strewn with 7.62 holes.
Recognize this anyone?

[Blue Phoenix]

This has more to do with my primary responsibility...I have grown close to the snipers in our company and they decided a while back to start letting me tag along with them on their missions...
First is the basic combat load in order of appearance: Barret .50, M14, and the dutiful M249 SAW.
Second is just an artistic one I took with the .50 and 14 in the foreground.
Third is one of our snipers doing his sketches.

[Blue Phoenix]

I have as many pictures as stories almost, therefore, it would be impossible to post them all. HawkDriver, what a vivid reminder to us that the guys in the sky are no safer than the grunts on the ground. Thanks again for your bravery. Id add more carnage pictures, but my old computer crashed and the removable hard drive i had was destroyed. So those pictures will have to serve my memory.

[HawkDriver]

Thanks Blue, those are some awesome shots. My favorite is surely the sketching one. Awesome! Keep those pics a coming brudda!

Hey I made it into Rusty twice today, i'll probably be on the lookout for you from now on when I go in there. Do you have a SIPR email?

How lucky you are that you get to go home to Carson CO. God I've wanted to get stationed there since I came in. The location is perfect and it's the closest post to my home of Utah. Did you come over from Korea when 2ID made the move? Will you be there long after redeployment? Looks like I'll be headed back to Ft Rucker Alabama once we redeploy back to Ft Hood TX.

Stay safe.

[Blue Phoenix]

Hey Hawk,
Unfortunately I dont have a SIPR email, but my team leader in the snipers does. Ill see if he minds me mouching off it a couple times, shouldnt mind. Ill send you a PM once I get it from him. I wasn't at Carson during the move, thankfully as most of my brethren here were, so I should be back at Carson for a while, just in time to get in some wheeling and skiing hopefully!
Rucker huh? Ive been wanting to head that way for a while, but my contract is going to keep my packet on hold until its is up in 09. Stay safe man.

[landcrusher909]

Great Pics, Blue, thanks for the stories and pics. my son Will shares them with his friends in his ROTC class stay safe.

[Blue Phoenix]

Thanks land crusher...Tell your son good luck with ROTC. I almost regret not going through it myself when I was in college, but I wouldn't change it now for the world. I'll keep posting more pics as they come.
A little addage to the pictures from above...
The pictures of the sniper hide were from a hairy encounter we had with Iraqi Police.
We had been there for about 22 hours at the time when the house we were in started taking PKC rounds from the other side. A PKC, for common knowledge purposes is bigger than our .50 cal and can make swiss cheese of the buildings here.
As you might expect, as the rounds were ripping through the walls (made of mortar and brick as you can see) we could do nothing but take cover for a bit as bricks fragments and pulverized mortar rained down around us. Once they stopped to reload we maneuvered to the fire side of the house to return fire before they could get the gun back up.
Upon locating the fire point, we noticed a squad sized element of Iraqi Police stacking at the front door to infill our location.
We tried signalling and shouting in Arabic that we were Americans, but this only encouraged more gunfire from all of the ground elements.
We decided at this point it was them or us, regardless if they were "on our side" so we stacked the stairs and prepared for their infill and what seemed to be an unavoidable stand off.
They breached the door and shortly thereafter were at the bottom of the stairs, both sides shouting at each other in Arabic, muzzles aimed at each other. (One of our snipers has gotten nearly fluent in Arabic since we've been here thank God).
Thankfully there was one officer with them with a shred of intelligence who realized that, yes, we were indeed Americans and ordered his men to stand down.
We then proceeded to move down the stairs, CAREFULLY, and come to terms with the situation.
All in all, no one was hurt, but we all looked at each other and knew if something had happened, there would have been alot of dead Iraqi Police and one of us surely would have been wounded or worse.
We later found out that there was a man who lived in the house and called the Iraqi Police alerting them that there were suspiscious individuals in the house when he came home.
I definitely know we were watched over that day and I have no idea how none of the rounds fired into the house hit any of us.
We affectionately refer to our encounter now as our Mexican Stand Off and joke about it from time to time.

[HawkDriver]

Holy smokes man, quite the encounter indeed! There are some apartment buildings along Haifa street downtown that have a lot of 'swiss cheese' holes around many of the windows from the "Haifa street battle". I know that we were occupying those during that fight and I'm wondering if these weren't caused by this gun you speak of.

I've been meaning to get some pics of em, I'll try to in a few days.

[semlin]

Originally Posted by Blue Phoenix

This is an answer for those LC requests...
First is contractor vehicles with TJM bumpers that stand up to much necessary abuse in traffi.
Recognize this anyone?

i have one, only mine doesn't have the electronic ignition which is very cool

[PScottBx]

Originally Posted by HawkDriver

Hey folks, not too much to update you all with here but today marks the one year anniversary of the day I got on the plane to come over to this place. Can you believe it? Had no idea that I wouldn't be home by now back then. Makes a year seem easy looking back I guess. If all goes well we should be home by mid January.

That was a pretty memorable day for the family and I, but one we've dealt with once before. First thing you show up at the gym around 0400 and drop your 2 duffel bags. Then all of the families get to sit inside with you for a few hours while you wait for the call forward. Then finally after a long period of mixed feelings with the family comes the call to "form up". It's not the usual quick affair where everyone snaps into position. It takes about 10 minutes or so with all the hugs and all the tears. Then after that last accountability formation you are free to get in one last hug on your way to load the bus. That's when all the feelings from the kids and everyone all come out. Then comes that last touch, then that last word, then finally that last look...

It's just crazy how fast our lives fly by, I mean it doesn't seem like a year already. I miss late nights on Mud chat with all of you guys and talking tech in the 40 section with everyone, but I'll be home and back at it again soon.

Sorry to get all sentimental on you and ****, just a significant day for me I guess. Thanks for all the support you guys show.

Jeremy

Sorry I'm just reading this now but hurry home dude.... stay safe.

...I still want my bumper made! Oh! ...and we'll have to make it for a Troopy now. lol



Bx

[burlew]

Hawkdriver and BluePhoenix and all the other studs out in the desert...if you need anything sent out don't hesitate to pm me.

Stay safe and when the time comes... WELCOME HOME!!!

THANK YOU!!!

[MDarius]

I couldn't think of a more appropriate place to offer my thanks to Veteran's this weekend. You're still out there. Be safe, thank you, and...anything else sounds cliche' and insincere.

At the risk of being mocked, I'll put my feelings out there and say it the way it is for me:
I read your posts and look at your pictures and am overwhelmed at the ease of my life and how much I take for granted. My family prays for your families. All of them. We pray that you can sleep peacefully whenever you get a chance. We pray that the bad guys will be defeated and someone will come to their senses. We offer thanks for your sacrifices and your dedication to doing your job. We salute the flag at every opportunity and pause what we are doing when a military aircraft or convoy goes by. Whenever our conversation is interrupted by an F-22 I remind my kids that that is the sound of freedom, look up and offer thanks. I tell them to not let a military plane or helicopter go by without thinking about the pilot and crew. I am ashamed of our politicians, but proud of our country, and especially our veterans, soldiers, and heroes.

Thank you for doing the job.

Peace, out. I now return you to your regularly scheduled Mud festivities...