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Posted on 10/23/2005 8:07:30 PM PDT by The Mayor
U.S. troops maintain high morale in Iraq
ANTONIO CASTANEDA
Associated Press
BAQOUBA, Iraq - One night on the outskirts of this restive city, a few dozen U.S. soldiers exited a movie theater on a military base, the smell of popcorn wafting from the doors as a few complained about the film.
Only a few miles away soldiers in the chilly night scanned the distance from an outpost deep in the city, peering through the darkness with night vision goggles for signs of insurgents who have steadily attacked their position throughout the year.
As U.S forces approach a dark milestone of 2,000 American dead since the war began in March 2003, many say morale has remained high, bolstered by the need to protect each other, by concentrating on their daily assigned tasks - and by amenities provided by the military to keep life in a war zone as normal as possible.
Some troops just focus on the day's mission and hope for a safe return home - soon.
"A lot of people don't want to be here, but they're here because it's their job," said Staff Sgt. Anthony Rayner, of Atlanta, as he slowly ate shrimp in a mess hall on a support base on the edge of Baqouba, a town of central Iraq plagued by insurgent attacks.
The factors that build morale look different whether you're looking from the center of the fight or from the more removed bases - though in a guerrilla-style conflict like Iraq, "front line" can have little meaning.
Those at the front sometimes look longingly for the amenities of the base; while some separated from the reality of urban warfare wish they were more in the heat of things. About 150,000 American troops are in the country.
Rayner said the conflict that had been abstract for some in his supply unit changed when they suffered casualties while traveling down dangerous roads.
"Then it's personal, and they want to go out there," said Rayner, referring to area towns where insurgents still lurk.
The U.S. military said Saturday that three U.S. Marines and an Army soldier were killed in three different areas of Iraq earlier this week, raising to at least 1,996 the number of members of the U.S. military who have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
In the streets of Baqouba, some troops said the fight isn't what builds their spirits, it's helping in reconstruction efforts.
"When you get attacked everyday then it's tough to maintain morale," said 1st Lt. Doug Serota of Birmingham, Ala., as his unit spoke to residents about plans to rebuild an irrigation system in a calm Shiite village north of Baqouba. "I've always said it's not necessarily fun being here, but there are many, many things that are rewarding."
Even better are the phone lines and Internet connections to home.
"Just getting the soldiers to talk to their wives and families is the best morale booster," added Serota of the 2nd Battalion, 69th Armored Regiment.
"There are some who say .... they're all hard" and want to be in combat, said PFC Sean Rolling of Boston, as he sipped a coffee milkshake in a fortified coffee shop during a break between missions. "But they all just want to go home."
Others say the toll of two and even three tours in Iraq in as many years has dwindled the number of those who will remain in the military and drained confidence that their work was making the United States safer.
Rayner said he has gone through two divorces, both blamed in part on a string of deployments.
"I'm a newlywed and I'm already trying to make my marriage work," said Spc. Charles Boyle of Oak Harbor, Wash., a mechanic who is serving in his second yearlong deployment.
But others said the lifestyle of today's American soldier on constant standby was what they expected.
"This is what I do for a living," said Sgt. Maj. William Doherty of Boston, just minutes after being awarded a Bronze Star for his response to an insurgent attack where shrapnel from a grenade tore through his thigh.
The military's efforts were slowly stabilizing Iraq, he said. "This place is a lot better for these people to live in," he said of Baqouba, where he was injured this spring. Doherty said most soldiers from his unit, in the 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery Regiment, had re-enlisted and that morale remained "very high."
Some soldiers and commanders said their faith in their mission was unshakable, confident that ongoing patrols and raids were making Iraq and their own country safer.
"This is not about Sunni Arabs laying (roadside bombs) out there. It's about al-Qaida and radical Islam," said Maj. Gen. Joseph Taluto, commander of the 42nd Infantry Division, in a pep talk to officers smoking cigars and drinking nonalcoholic beer at a base in Baqouba.
However, a lukewarm reaction by many Iraqis to the military - particularly in Sunni Arab regions like Baqouba - made some soldiers take a second look at the impact of their presence.
"Thank you for removing Saddam. Now get out of here," said Rolling of the 110th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, describing the responses of some villagers to American troops.
Skeptics say morale is propped up because of soldiers' limited access to news - newspapers on many bases throughout the country are sparse, and weary soldiers often head straight to their trailers after missions instead of plodding to check the latest nationwide news at Internet centers.
"We really don't know what is going on in the rest of the country, just here," said Spc. Dainsworth Harris of New York, tapping his table. Harris said he sometimes would learn about major attacks in the country in e-mails from relatives.
A nearby soldier said he only found out that Saddam Hussein went on trial Wednesday, having missed recent headlines because of a string of long missions. Many soldiers only know of attacks and casualties in neighborhoods assigned to their companies, often small parts of sprawling cities.
For those support troops away from the grind of daily urban combat, morale is buttressed by a startling range of amenities, ranging from big screen televisions to the latest videogame systems packed into trailers that serve as homes to tens of thousands of soldiers. In the coffee shop surrounded by concrete blast walls, relaxing soldiers played chess with civilian contractors with mellow Spanish music in the background.
A few dozen on the base on the outskirts of Baqouba caught a recent viewing of "Dark Water" with Jennifer Connelly, but not everybody thought it was the best film.
Most said morale hinged on the duration of deployments - but even this was subject to change.
Rolling's unit was just notified it will stay extra to help with upcoming national elections in December, and his grumbling extended right to the Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.
"Thanks to good ole Rumsfeld, we got extended 10 days," he said. "Ten days is a lifetime out here."
Just got word from JohnHuang2. He's fine and survived the storm at his sister's house. He's without power and figures it may be days before he has it again. He asked me to let you know his status
Saw your post on the TGIF thread (((Mama Bear))) and am so sorry to hear about your MIL's injuries from the fall. Know you'll be tied up with that emergency for a while.
Thanks for the update on JH2. Had been wondering how he was doing down there.
Thank you so much! Another great graphic artist! Someday, I will have to take lessons from Auntie Bear!
I do take calicum and potasium, I'm going to add magnesium to the mix. The leg cramps are due to muscle fatigue, I have Fibromyalgia and because I now have to work standing on my feet 8 hours a day on concrete my legs are beginning to cramp and ache badly not only during the day but at night too.
We never realize how dependent we are upon electricity until we lose it. I hope to live "off the grid" someday soon.
Unfortunately I didn't, never truly got back under as my legs kept hurting. This fibromyalgia is a muscle arthritis, and I can't take much of any thing for it because I react badly to the majority of meds.
Steve called about 9 a.m. to relate he had 100 mph winds there and was without power - 2 storm shutters had blown off. Has a battery-operated TV set, though, to get some news.
Said Kevin had just called him - no power - no TV - but has a generator.
Steve called again at 1 p.m. to say he STILL was under siege with 90 mph winds...even worse - it lifted part of the roof, and water was pouring in and through the walls and saturating the carpeted areas.
He and Sandy had retreated to a safe part of the house, but with no power fora/c, mold and mildew will quickly entrench. She is asthmatic and very sensitive to it.
This is a beautiful almost new house in an exclusive area - finally, their dream home. It can be a VERY LONG time before the insurance adjuster gets to them - and with hundreds of thousands of others hiring the contractors to do the repairs (in addition to NEW construction!), it is a grim picture.
There still are homes not yet fixed from LAST YEAR'S hurricanes in Florida!
It also blew down part of the tall wooden fence around the back yard for their adopted greyhound, installed just one week ago.
The house across the street from them had their entire roof torn off...
I tried to call Kevin's cell phone number, but got a recording, so I don't yet know his damage there.
Actually, Kevin in the eye of the storm had some intervals of relief as it went through, with calm open areas between bands.
Steve at the top of the worst of Wilma has had sustained high winds without any let up.
Am getting ready for another out of town trek tomorrow...might not post again until late afternoon or evening then.
Suicide bombings down, but far from over, in Iraq
BAGHDAD, IRAQ - It wasn’t on the scale of past attacks that killed dozens of people. But when a suicide bomber plowed his explosives-laden car into police in Baghdad, killing four people, it was a sign that insurgents are still working to wreak devastation in the capital.
Violence swelled elsewhere as well. A police colonel stepped into his car in Kirkuk with his two sons, headed to work in the morning, and a bomb went off, killing the three of them and two young girls in a car nearby. In all more than 20 Iraqis were killed in shootings and bomb blasts Sunday.
Still, with the toll among American service members in the Iraq war approaching 2,000 dead, the U.S. military said it has hampered insurgents’ ability to unleash more suicide bombings with a series of offensives this month in towns along the Euphrates River in western Iraq that disrupted militant preparations for attacks.
"We have interrupted the flow of the suicide missions into the large urban areas. Certainly, we have had success denying free movement of car bombs into Baghdad," Brig. Gen. Donald Alston told reporters in the capital.
"It is also a function of Iraqi citizens who have come forward and with their support we have found car bomb factories. We have found a series of large weapon caches," he said.
In Sunday’s attack, the bomber plowed his explosives-laden car into two police vehicles in downtown Tahrir Square at 11:30 a.m., killing two police officers and two civilians. U.S. troops swept into the scene in Humvees as a crowd of bystanders gathered around the smoking wreckage, tending to the 11 wounded.
In the past, Baghdad has been heavily battered by deadly suicide attacks, with a string of them killing nearly 700 people from April 1 to early September.
But amid an intensified security clampdown, suicide car bombings have been greatly reduced in recent weeks, and those that have occurred have caused fewer casualties. Across the country, they have fallen since the Oct. 15 referendum on a new constitution.
Sunday’s attack was the deadliest suicide attack in the capital since a Sept. 26 attack killed seven people near the Oil Ministry.
Roadside bombs hit three separate U.S. convoys in Baghdad on Sunday morning, wounding a total of five soldiers, a military spokesman, U.S. Sgt. 1st Class David Abrams, said.
The violence came after a week in which 23 U.S. troops were reported killed.
A suicide car bomber rammed into a U.S. military convoy Sunday morning in the northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk, killing two civilians and wounding 13.
A calcium magnesium is better for you than a calcium potasium mix. Be sure you're getting enough water and wear good supportive shoes.
Enzymatic Therapy carries a line of products for people with fibromyalgia (sp), Fatigued to Fantastic, they have information on a doctor on line website but I'll have to find the address and get back to you on it.
I'm sorry you're not well and I hope you feel better soon.
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Also, prayers for everyone who are in Hurricane Wilma's harms way. Started to feel "grumpy" about the gloomy yucky rain in the midwest...then realize I have every reason to be grateful. ((((finest friends))))))
Lori...just read about your MIL. I am so sorry and am praying for you and JK that she gets the best of care as well as does not become an increasing burden on you. ((((lori)))))
Am glad that your family is alright and sorry to hear about the property damage.Your son will need to have the carpet removed as soon as possible even if they have to do it themselves.
The carpet padding can cause a mold that could ruin the whole house and everything in it.
Having a few significant bumps (as opposed to good FR 'bumps')here along the way in NE Ohio & do solicit your prayers please?
Life is complicated for everyone, and I am no exception. thanks. {{{finest friends }}}}
Prayers continue for those who were assaulted by Wilma this past few days
going to stop at Snug's Dose for a little cheer up
Perfect, I didn't even notice.
It must be the womans eye!
You have prayers from me for whatever it is that is causing the "bumps". And a ((((hug))))
Thank you always good to hear good news.
Amen!
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