American Soldiers

A couple of friends asked me about my blog this morning. So I "tweeted" that I'm taking a break, on Twitter. Mostly because I'm in-between places right now, in transit, and on my way home. It's nearly a two week process, moving an entire army company from Iraq back to the states through Kuwait, and that's with all good weather. But this morning with a wireless connection and little else to do, I figured I'd post a counter balance to my previous theme.

It may or may not need to be said, but I'm proud of being a soldier and of the people I work with. I was primed to get stuck on the Hero/Soldier theme as I encountered those Facebook groups right after a couple weeks of hearing a lot of silly talk from soldiers on the subject of returning home. Some guys (and girls), particularly the younger set, see the return home as a license to do whatever they want when they get back. As if going crazy is something they deserve, like a spring break from school amplified. Perhaps it's all just, could it be?, me dealing with concerns or even worry for these guys doing something dangerous or regrettable? Am I really growing up finally?

But I've gone on enough about all that. What follows is a selection of photos taken over the last 15 months of my fellow American soldiers from the 110th MP Company, one of the very last units in Iraq (if not the very last) to begin and complete a 15 month deployment.

Gunner Spc. Amato giving a wave.


Sgt. Anderson and PFC Smith, we did a lot of training with ASVs (the vehicle), but barely used them at all in theater.


Spc. Chambers, a meet and greet with locals. Even if the young guys talk big, we're still fortunate that our mission involved this kind of contact, and not the kind of "contact!" we train for in basic.


Spc. Hackler


It was often interesting to watch how receptive, or not, the Iraqi Police were to our assistance or advice, particularly coming from an American female. Sgt. Irlbeck with the local cops.


Pfc. Johnson with the tough guy look, I think he forgot there was a purple bear on his vest.


Spc. Ward while at an IP station. The "shoulder pads" are called DAPs by us, only used by gunners by the end of the deployment.


This is a picture I got from another soldier's Facebook. Judging by the DCUs this was most likely '04-'06.


Ever curious, the local kids who have lived their entire lives with American presence, gather around whenever we would show up.


A muddy field the day after a day of rain, I think it was April, the only time I saw any precipitation in Diwaniya. The black mask is worn by an Iraqi interpreter.