A soldier's life: On the ground in Iraq with Washington state's 81st Armored Brigade
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"I hope that my soldiers' parents and friends have an opportunity to read about their loved ones in The Seattle Times. I wrote this for them."
So writes Maj. Damon Hunt in an e-mail to this newspaper from Iraq. The essay that follows focuses neither on the headlines of the day nor the politics of the region, but simply on the everyday lives that many Washington state military personnel are now experiencing.
On this weekend of remembrance, Hunt's commentary serves as a letter back home from our troops stationed abroad.
WITH THE 81ST BRIGADE, Iraq — At Logistical Support Area (LSA) Anaconda, north of Baghdad, the work never stops. Every day here is like two or three days back home. The main reason is that we run 24 hours a day.
It's always more exciting to read about the violence in Iraq than it is to read about the exploits of the ordinary, hard-working soldier. Although the 81st Brigade Combat Team, with which I'm serving as a major, may not be in the spotlight, we are accomplishing our assigned mission.
On this Memorial Day weekend, it is important to give Washington state readers a firsthand account of things because media accounts can skew perceptions of the war. It's easy to focus on the "big Army" and forget that the soldiers on the ground are men and women from your own neighborhood.
Rumors
It surprised some soldiers when the 81st Armored Brigade was activated for federal duty. There were rumors the brigade would be mobilized for Operation Iraqi Freedom II, and the brigade had been on alert during the first few months of major combat operations. Some leaders in the brigade believed it was only a matter of time before the 81st would be called, and they were right.
The brigade was activated in November and informed it would be sent first to Fort Lewis for training and then to Fort Irwin, Calif., for theater-specific training and brigade combat team (BCT) validation.
Nobody had any more doubt; we were headed to a combat zone. We were trained in the skills needed for our new roles in the theater of operations and thereafter referred to as the 81st BCT. The 81st BCT is currently deployed in different bases throughout Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
It is what it is
Daily life here is what it is. Things just continue going on. It's not as if you can leave the office and pick up where you left off the night before. I'm certain none of us will ever take a weekend for granted again.
Time off is a hot commodity here. We all want days off, but there's not much to do. We lift weights, go to movies, write letters or read books. The movies aren't too bad. The theater is actually a pretty good place to go.
But even during recreation, there is no forgetting that we're in a combat zone. We're reminded of that fact every time an insurgent or anti-coalition member fires mortars or rockets into the compound.
The camp's alarm system sounds the warning siren and soldiers move to a bunker or one of the reinforced buildings. Sometimes the mortar rounds and rockets impact close to living areas and work areas. Periodically, people are wounded or killed.
We live in a dangerous place, so each soldier always carries his or her weapon with plenty of ammunition. Soldiers are trained to be very aware of their surroundings and prepared to perform their job at a moment's notice. It's difficult to predict when or where the mortars or rockets will impact. The best defense is to be ready for the attacks, always.
A different sun
The explosives aren't the only hazard that we face. The weather plays a large part in the way we conduct business. The sun here is different than in Washington. It begins to beat down in earnest much earlier in the day and heats up faster, so it seems. By the afternoon, it's over 100 degrees and it's not even summer yet. In the afternoon, even the wind is hot.
Walking around camp, my helmet and body armor stick to me. My M-16A2 becomes slippery in my sweaty hands. The protective plates in the body armor make it heavy and the heat of the day makes the body armor uncomfortable. Dehydration is always a danger, so the soldiers drink from 1.5-liter water bottles or the water supplies they carry on their backs.
The soldiers are always glad when they get a chance to provide some assistance to the community. One week, a woman from the village accidentally spilled cooking oil on her child. The woman brought the child to one of the entry-control points at the base and the soldiers were able to provide emergency medical assistance. I'm not sure the child would have had good medical care, had the soldiers not provided it. The soldiers commented they were glad to be able to provide something good for the civilians in this area.
I'm very proud of my soldiers and I'm proud of the 81st Brigade. Most of the soldiers who work for me in the Tactical Operations Center (TOC) had to quit school or take leaves of absence from well-paying jobs to deploy with the brigade. Now these young soldiers help coordinate the movement of Army units and ensure that the protection of the entire base is solid.
Tense hours
The soldiers in the TOC monitor radios and status charts. They communicate with the soldiers on patrol and the TOCs of the adjacent units. They are keenly aware of the operating picture of the battlefield, working with the latest intelligence and troop movements in real time.
The TOC gets very tense sometimes, and the hours seem longer as the situations heat up. Each soldier's skills are the key to the success of the mission and the brigade's success overall.
The brigade's support battalion, Task Force (TF) 181, provides guards at the entry-control points of LSA Anaconda. The guards are the front-line defense of Anaconda. TF 181 coordinates the entrance and exit of hundreds of civilians and soldiers who work on the base and numerous convoys that provide service and protection for Anaconda.
The job of the guards is very dangerous. They are the first response to possible "vehicle borne improvised explosive devices" (VBIED).
The soldiers inspect each vehicle with the help of trained dogs that detect explosives. When a VBIED is detected, it's the immediate action of the guard that can determine the possible outcome of the situation. They are specially trained for the job and they are truly brave soldiers.
Amenities
So what can I tell you about the camp itself? The buildings in Anaconda are mostly remnants of what used to be an Iraqi Air Force base. They're made of brick and marble. The stone buildings stay cool during the day, with help from air conditioning units spread throughout the offices.
The amenities aren't bad in Anaconda, when soldiers get a few hours off to enjoy them. There is an indoor swimming pool and a movie theater that shows three movies a day, and the movies are recent releases. The great thing about the theater is that it's full-sized. It's an old-style theater with red runners down the aisles. The theater sells hot dogs and pizza. They're frozen pizzas that the Iraqi employees heat in pizza ovens, but it's the best pizza you can buy in Iraq for $9.
Good eats
I think we're all thankful for the mess hall and the food that we have. The hot items are hot and the cold items are cold. Some bases don't eat as well as we do. The mess hall is full of Army standards, like powdered eggs, chipped beef in gravy and some form of potatoes. The coffee here is usually flavored with vanilla or cinnamon. I've never seen flavored coffee in a mess hall before now.
Most of the soldiers live in trailers that are divided into three rooms. Each room is approximately 15 feet wide by 15 feet long. Two soldiers live in each room. Some of the soldiers live in the stone buildings that have been fashioned into living quarters.
Showers are provided in a separate trailer. The trailer contains roughly 20 separate shower stalls, with a central dressing area. Trailers containing toilets are next to the shower trailers. This is a very modern, comfortable means of living, in comparison to the conditions for units that occupied this base earlier in the year. The soldiers who occupied this base, prior to the 81st Brigade, did not have the same luxuries. Remnants of their shower facilities still remain. They were made of plywood, with a shower head and a water source that had been attached. They weren't nearly as comfortable or private.
Homesick
All of the soldiers here long for a piece of home, and all soldiers look forward to "mail call." The soldiers of the 81st are no different. A package from home can turn a dismal day into a great day very quickly. Snacks from home are shared with other soldiers. Sometimes, elementary-school students send boxes of cookies and words of encouragement. The packages always mean a lot to the soldiers.
We each miss our homes and our families. We spend the time talking about the great things we'll do with our kids and our spouses when we get back. We talk about our favorite restaurants back home or the colossal barbecues that we'll prepare upon our return. Some of the soldiers have already received "Dear John" letters, so they see their return a little differently.
This deployment has affected each member of Washington's 81st Brigade differently. Deploying to a combat zone has an impact on each individual, regardless of the comforts the Army tries to provide. Separation from loved ones hurts. There is an uncertainty about what each day in Iraq may bring and each of these things takes its own toll.
We've lived in Anaconda for only a short while, but all of us want to return quickly to our lives back home in Washington.
Damon Hunt graduated from Sammamish High School in 1985 and from Washington State University in 1989. He was sworn in to the Washington Army National Guard in 1991. He fought fires with the National Guard in the Leavenworth area in 1994 and helped train soldiers to respond to the World Trade Organization riots in Seattle in 1999.