A letter from Iraq

[tanker22]

Got this the other day from my sister currently serving in the Army as a 1LT with a Medical support/ Evac reserve unit.

She is over there for a 18 month tour and is her first deployment as well so alot of the stuff is a big shock to her, welcome to the real Army kid

The first I have heard from her since she left and as you will see is a blanket letter to the rest of the family or who ever decided to write her.

Thought it would neat to share with all of you just to give a bit of insight as to what it is like over there, what is happening and some of the things the troops have to go though. Granted she is in a pretty cushy job as the Battalion S-1 so I dont forsee much field time for her unless thier mission changes.

Brings back alot of memories for me and I can relate with what she is going through. Hope you enjoy it and just remember how easy we have it back here compared to them.

 

 

 

Hey everyone.

Sorry for the mass email- I'm trying really hard to email everyone back individually. I stay really busy. I usually work at least 12 hours a day and everyday of the week. So at least my time here is going fast because of how much I work. Unfortunately, it causes me a lot of stress and I have a hard time sleeping at night. But I'm am told that over time I will get used to it.

Our newsletter will be coming out soon. Sorry for the delay- it got pushed back because of our movements. But it will be out within the next couple of days.

Again, I'm sorry that I haven't been keeping in touch very well- I'm working on it. The internet here is really expensive at our CHUs (container housing units) and from about 1700- 2100 is slows way down because everyone is getting on the wireless and using up all the bandwidth. I usually don't get back to my room till about 2030 anyways. I just found out how to call home- so Mom and Dad- promise to call you soon. It's just easier to email when I get a chance and it don't have to worry about the time difference. Again, I want to thank all of your that have been emailing me and sending me mail...it brightens up my day and really helps on the "bad" days. I have learned even more to appreciate the little things in life- like vehicles, phones, privacy, etc. And we have it pretty good here on base in Baghdad. No I don't eat any MREs- I eat at the DFACs (Dining Facilities) and they have plenty of food. Actually I even get Indian food here--there are a lot of Indians that work at the DFACs serving the food. Lots of chow, fruits, drinks, desserts etc. So we have more than enough food. It's not bad at all, except it all starts to taste the same after awhile. It's funny with the Indian and Asian workers...they all ask where I'm from and then assume I speak the language and I have to explain I don't. So instead of learning Arabic here--I might come back learning Hindi. LOL.

We a only a couple vehicles so we walk everywhere..good exercise since I walk all the time. To put things into perspective...it takes me about 20-30 mins just to walk to lunch oneway. Communication is hard even here within our unit because we are scattered all over Iraq, and the different bases in Baghdad.

The weather here is starting to heat up. We get duststorms a lot as well- usually puts a damper on our flight plans. We were delayed from Kuwait to Baghdad because of that. We are suppose to still work the same mission in Ramadi even though the construction has been pushed back. I don't think our unit will ever move there for our operations even if it does open. We will continue to perform our mission here in Baghdad I believe.

But it's pretty cool here at night still. I'm sure its gonna heat up really quick soon. And all the bugs are starting to come out as well. Even though I put sunscreen on all the time...I will come back with a tan face and hands. That's gonna look funny.

Our base in Baghdad is pretty nice though. Not complaining at all. I know those before me have been through a lot worse. But I see Sadam's palace everday and there are a lot of man-made lakes here that beautify up the area a lot. Other than that there are very few palm trees and the rest is dirt. There are a lot of neat building here as well. I can't tell you too much without giving up our operational security. For the most part we stay on the base most of the time. Some of our personnel travel to different areas in Iraq and Kuwait for short periods of time.

I am getting some great experience here and learning a lot. I do a lot of management and dealing with personnel. I have also meet some really nice people outside of our unit. There are definately things that I will carry with me the rest of my life. I also have some friends within the unit as well.

I will try to send you guys more pics of myself and my time here. I'm sure it can explains somethings far better than words can. Well, I better get going and try and get some sleep. Miss you all. Keep in touch.

 

 

 

-Rachel

[sethohman]

Some of our personnel travel to different areas in Iraq and Kuwait for short periods of time.

 

A bit of bad OPSEC there, but not overly so.

 

I am leaving in about a month over there (not specifically Iraq, though). I feel for her - the weather there sucks, along with pretty much everything else.

 

It does help all of us over there knowing that we are thought about here.

 

One bit of silver lining for me is that Reaper ships to APO addresses for free - time to stock up on those bits I have been looking for for kit-bashing some CAV.

 

Mike

[All-Terrain Monkey]

I was typing up a longer reply but I realized even skirting OPSEC as I was I'd better keep well back from the line. Suffice to say, as a former Army Signal NCO, I'm surprised troops are having to pay for bandwidth instead of having free areas to access the 'net. Of course, all the ones I set up were packed due to limited resources, but the thought of troops shelling out $$$ for connectivity (I remember how much those paid vultures charged) makes my blood boil a bit.

 

At least it sounds like she has it good with the food and living arrangements; I've been out a couple of years now and can still mostly remember all the old MRE contents per number. I also don't miss the fine art of putting as many people as possible into a sleeping tent through creative bunk-bed construction and hooks for hanging gear.

 

Glad to hear she's doing well though and that the troops are being taken care of over there.

[Joe Kutz]

I was typing up a longer reply but I realized even skirting OPSEC as I was I'd better keep well back from the line. Suffice to say, as a former Army Signal NCO, I'm surprised troops are having to pay for bandwidth instead of having free areas to access the 'net. Of course, all the ones I set up were packed due to limited resources, but the thought of troops shelling out $$$ for connectivity (I remember how much those paid vultures charged) makes my blood boil a bit.

 

That and the 20 some odd year non-disclosure that you sign when they approve your clearance...

 

Anywho, I had the pleasure of heading that way a few times, and in most cases you have MWR internet connections which are free to use - but limited to a certain number of computers in a public area. You than have a contractor who works with the base to supply additional Wi-Fi connectivity (sort of like the Burger Kings at some of the cushier locals) that a lot of people can buy into if they want easier access to the internet or a bit more privacy (as opposed to sitting in a room with 30 other guys behind you waiting for their turn online).

 

Hope she stays well while there, and doesn't let it get under her skin. It is fairly safe all things considered, and I would much rather head back to the sand box than go to certain areas of US metro areas.

 

We are suppose to still work the...I believe.

 

For reasons of OPSEC though, you might want to consider striking that section from your post. People working all over is to be expected. Mission locals as specific issues though can be exploited.

 

<--- Former MASINT monkey.

[tanker22]

Thanks for the concern guys Given the circumstances I would have to say she is about as safe as she could get, just wish she had 62 tons of steel aroound her like I did though, at least gives you the feeling of security with the ability to hit back if you need too.

 

keep your head down sethohman and watch yourself

 

I think the OPSEC thing is manily concerned with specific troop movements and time lines from what I reacall, vauge comment like I'm seeing here or what she said shouldnt be an issue. The bad guys know where they are and how to get at them if they want to, OPSEC just makes it a bit more difficult and doesnt give them the ability to prepaln strikes on unit movements.

 

Last time I was over there we didnt have internet, just phone centers and they were free. Was a bit surprised as well she has to pay to use it.

 

One thing I always thought was strange was the contract works in the mess hall, seems like a pretty easy access point to get at alot of troops at the same time. We had them as well back in kuwait at Dohah, most the time out in the boonies we had the pleasure of dinning on MRE's and T-rats though. The joys of combat arms

Things are lot more built up now than when I was there. We had to build our own tent city cabbal in the middle of the desert in '97 complete with double berms, gaurd towers and gates

 

Take it easy guys and thanks

[Dilvish the Deliverer]

I'll add my wishes of a safe tour to all of the others. A bunch of my shipmates are over there on Individual Augment (IA) right now.

 

Good luck on your deployment over there as well sethohman.

 

And Joe, only a 20 year NDA? The last one I remember signing was something along the order of 99 years or upon my death whichever came last. Funny thing is that I don't even remember what it was for. They might as well just have said never.

 

But OPSEC is a no joke. There was a sub that was pulling in overseas on deployment and a bunch of the wives were going to go meet it. Well, they talked about the plans an when the boat was going to pull in and how long, and the info made it onto a web page (or maybe Myspace, I can't remember). Long story short, Wives flew over and found out the the port call (and the next few) had been canceled while they were in the air. After 90 days submerged, there were some mighty unhappy squids let me tell you.