Silent Warriors Among Us - Civilian Contractors

"America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on
imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand." - Harry
Truman

There are silent warriors among us. They represent the backbone of the continuity that has sustained the ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Often derided by many back home as overpaid byproducts of pork-barrel politics, they drive on and stay focused on the people they care about most – the Soldiers. I’m referring to the civilian contractors. We depend on them here. They always deliver quality in all they do. Civilians can be found toiling at every FOB. Perhaps best known for the amazing dining facilities that keep us fed, the civilian workforce also provides various other services. These include laundry, facilities maintenance, air terminal operations, MWR facilities, fuel issue points, water treatment plants, military equipment maintenance, and many other services. They also risk their lives every day driving trucks alongside Soldiers while conducting convoy operations on some of the most dangerous roads in the world. Unlike Soldiers, civilians don’t deploy for one year. They stay as long as their contract continues. There are contractors in Iraq who have been faithfully serving Soldiers since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom. They will be with us all the way to the end of Operation New Dawn. Many of them will then move on to Afghanistan and continue their faithful service. They are amazing people who we’ve come to respect immensely for their dedication.

My Battalion manages some of the contracts at Speicher. While the civilian contractors involved with those contracts don’t work for me, they are still accountable to our mission. As such, we have civilians driving trucks on convoys planned by my staff, managing fuel yards that issue thousands of gallons of various types of fuel daily, and provide maintenance support to the tenant units. I am extremely proud of all of them. We try to give them recognition whenever we can. Since we can’t give them an achievement medal, we make do with special gatherings to honor them. Normally, this means we also hand out a few Certificates of Appreciation to thank them for their hard work. Recently, my Direct Support Maintenance section held a special breakfast to thank the civilian contractors who are part of their operation. CSM and I attended and shared a few words of praise and thanks. I had them hold their hands up if they had been in Iraq at least a year and keep them up as I counted up additional years in country. Every one of them had been in Iraq for at least two years. One of our mechanics had been serving the DS Maintenance at Speicher for seven years. Now that is continuity. The Soldiers have come and gone but the contractors have labored on in selfless dedication.

I have little tolerance for people back home who have never deployed yet feel they need to wax eloquent to me with their various opinions about the reasons we’re in Iraq. Often times they’ll use the civilian contractors as “proof” to their argument that the war was concocted for oil or to pad a politician’s stock portfolio. It’s a tired, sad argument at this point. It’s also an argument that shows complete ignorance with regards to really knowing who the contractors are. Simply stated, the contractors are a Soldier’s best friends in this war. They are truly “salt of the earth”. They are the unsung heroes of this war and will always have my respect.

Kalsu Another Day

"Those that hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not" -
Thomas Jefferson

Given that our battalion area of operations is over a geographic area larger than the State of Georgia, it's only logical that I have to travel to see all of my Soldiers. They perform many roles in support of our mission and operate from remote locations. One such location is FOB Kalsu - a place I'm quite familiar with from my previous deployment. I have fond memories of Kalsu, one of which is the time I had to fill two sandbags prior to going into the DFAC on Thanksgiving. Ah yes, the memories... But back to the present I go. It was a bright, clear and very hot day as CSM, Chaplain, an NCO from my HQ and myself all loaded into a Blackhawk. We wouldn't be making this trip all the same day. Our plan was to fly into Liberty Main (aka Club Liberty Pad) at the VBC complex and then fly on to Kalsu the next morning. Leg one went as planned. A 45-minute flight and we were touching down at another of my old haunts from "The Surge" days. My HHC Commander met us and drove us over to our waiting CHUs. Then we made another stop along my memory lane - DeFleury DFAC. Camp Liberty is a massive complex that reminds me of a dirtier version of Fort Hood, TX. It is a seemingly endless series of CHUs, HQs, motorpools, and mess halls. They say it isn't as crowded now as it was back in 2008. To me it still looks exactly the same. After chow we hit the sack. An "O-dark-thirty" flight to Kalsu awaited us.

0300 the next morning we were all on our way to BIAP for the early bird special to Kalsu. It was too dark for us to notice the haze of a building dust storm. Once at BIAP, we hit the 24-hour Green Beans Coffee for a jolt'o joe. I got the MOAC (Mother of all Coffees), which is a GB 24-ounce concoction of dark coffee mixed with four shots of espresso. In the end, this turned out to serve only as a bowel movement inducing blast of hardcore java. As the sun began to come over the horizon we began to realize Kalsu might be just beyond our grasp. Then the official word came - red air. That's the new phrase for what used to be called weather hold. The wait began. Two hours later our original flight was cancelled. We were shifted to a later flight. The wait continued. By 1100 we were tired, crabby, and impatient. My MOAC had given me a burst of energy that subsided after I dealt with the Mother Nature side effects of drinking something so bold. We called the HHC Commander and had him return to pick us up. Not long afterward, the other flight to Kalsu cancelled. We would have to see Kalsu another day.

That evening we all stopped by the Camp Liberty PX, which is a large complex that is surprisingly well stocked. We all purchased cigars and fake beer. Then we headed out to the smoking area and lit up. The weather won this round. It happens here. I made the decision not to try again the next day. Instead, we would return to Speicher. With the decision made we relaxed and enjoyed our cigars, all the while pretending our beer was real. It was a brief respite from an exhaustive, frustrating day.

As if to mock us, the flying weather the next day was perfect. Truth is, we had the last laugh. We didn't get stuck at Liberty for another day. Kalsu is in our future. We'll spin the roulette wheel on the weather somewhere down the road and it will work out. Another Thanksgiving at Kalsu perhaps? I may plan that just to see if I have to fill another two sandbags to get in the DFAC.

Never Forgotten, Never In Vain

“I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.” – Abraham Lincoln

As dawn broke it seemed like just another Saturday morning here at COB Speicher. Soldiers, Airmen, Contractors and others went about their normal business as we continued our daily preparations to close up shop and continue our responsible retrograde from Iraq. As the sun climbed into the Iraqi sky we started to hear trickles of news from a tragic event that had taken place hundreds of miles to our east. On a distant battleground in another country in which our brave men and women selflessly toil, a helicopter had been shot down with terrible loss. Another war in which we fight with equal professionalism, selfless service, and painful sacrifice rages on in Afghanistan. Thirty American warriors, seven Afghan brothers-in-arms, and a fearless military working dog, all dedicated to one another in faith, confidence in each other and their mission, paid the ultimate sacrifice when their CH-47 Chinook was struck by a missile and downed. It was the worst combat loss in a single day since the start of the war in Afghanistan. Its impact resonated across the entire military community. For when one mourns we all join hands and hearts together. In the military we are all family and we share the grief for the loss of a fallen comrade. I can’t say if anyone here at Speicher actually knew any of our comrades on that helicopter. I know I didn’t. But to all of us that is irrelevant. We don’t need to know our comrades personally to feel the sting of their loss or share the sorrow felt by their family and friends. For we are all linked together by our sense of duty to serve our Nation, preserve her Freedom, and our commitment to the Warrior Ethos. August 6, 2011 was a dark day for all of us, as though there truly was a “tremor in the force” that is the bond of military service. Our resiliency is in knowing that from this sad day we will recover, we will prevail, and we will emerge victorious. We will never allow a fallen comrade to have made such sacrifice in vain. The thirty Americans lost aboard that Chinook may be gone but they will never be forgotten for the sacrifice they’ve laid at the altar of Freedom. Neither will the seven Afghan patriots who gave their last full measure for their Nation and their people. Last, the Military Working Dog is yet another in a long line of devoted K9’s who never questioned faithful service and died alongside the men with whom they served.

God bless the families, friends and the fellow members of their unit in this time of loss and know that all men and women of our military family are bowing our heads with you now and always. Although there are times when we feel our life of service is eternal, we know that in the end we are all mere mortals who are made mighty only by our trust in one another. We know that when Heaven’s roll call is sounded we will all one day be present and accounted for. Amen.

Farewell Burger King and Good Riddance

“If we do not lay ourselves at the service of mankind whom should we serve?” – John Adams

Throughout multiple deployments I have never been a person to frequent the food courts found on every FOB. Normally, they are located at the PX and range in variety from Pizza Hut to Subway. Green Beans Coffee is another fixture. Now that base closure is the name of the game, these food courts are on the wane. The one at COB Speicher isn’t very large, consisting of a Burger King, Subway and Green Beans. A sad day came for many a Joe in the past week. The Burger King closed and the trailer facility that housed it is being removed. Soon the other two will follow. It really makes no difference to me. The DFAC serves massive quantities of quality chow. I never really understood why anyone would pay money at the food court when they have so many options for free at the mess hall. Oh well, it is becoming a moot point. As the FOBs get closer to their end the food courts are disappearing. Joes have no choice now but the DFAC.

Food court closures are just a sideshow to the real events ongoing here. Oblivious to such events, and ignoring the increasingly bare shelves of the PX, we drive on in pursuit of our mission. Along the way we seize every moment we can to recognize our amazing Soldiers. There are two times we have an opportunity to recognize Soldiers – awards and promotion. We’ve had several of both. In the past two weeks I’ve had both Officer and Enlisted promotions within the Battalion. This has afforded us the opportunity to give special recognition to various members of our unit for their hard work, excellence of performance, and professional progression of their careers. What makes this all the more special is that we are able to take time out from our pursuit of mission success in Iraq to pay homage to our own. What’s best is that we have many more Soldiers to recognize in the coming months. Food courts may be soon a thing of the past here in Iraq but what isn’t is the incredible determination and drive of our Soldiers. They’ll just all be fueled by the DFAC from now on.

Taking Time to Have Fun

"Have fun in your command. Don't always run at breakneck pace. Take leave
when you've earned it, spend time with your families." - Colin Powell

It can be difficult to properly balance taking the time to have fun against the need to stay focused on mission. I've seen many a commander who couldn't balance the two at all. Normally, their command climate was terrible because everyone was on edge, exhausted, and stressed. Many a commander has aged well beyond their years because they simply could not grasp that being a workaholic does not equal success. Being a workaholic commander also makes life difficult for your subordinates and usually causes morale to sink. It's one thing to demand results, performance and high standards. However, it's another thing to force yourself and everyone around you to be consumed by work and nothing else. I internalized a simple philosophy a long time ago that serves me well - one that I advise my subordinates to also embrace. It simply states that in the Army it's just business, it's not personal. Working towards mission success is our business. Balance that against your personal time and don't stress about things outside your control. And, as Colin Powell advises, take time to have fun! I know I do and I ensure we make provisions for everyone in the battalion to do likewise. The results of our efforts? Our morale is high and our discipline problems are minimal. We work when it's time and we enjoy ourselves when we have time off. That's the way it should be.

Soldiers find ways to spend their off time. COB Speicher does not offer much in terms of venues. There is an MWR and two gyms. Personal fitness is a common theme and the gym is where most off-duty time is spent. The units field intramural teams that hold regular tournaments. The main gym offers spinning, P90X, and other classes. Best of all, the gyms are open 24-hours. The MWR has regular events too. This can vary from "Salsa Night" to "Karaoke Under the Stars" at the PX Food Court. All of this doesn't necessarily mean that every Soldier has an organized activity they routinely attend. A lot of them simply spend their off hours on the computer or watching movies back in their rooms. The "Purple Palace" Iraqi bazaar offers all the latest in movie releases via pirated DVD's that sell for dirt cheap prices. The Soldiers refer to these as "Haji Movies", although that is an inaccurate slang usage. Regardless, everyone seems to find their own niche when they aren't working. I like it that way. I want my Soldiers to be refreshed and happy when they report for duty.

CSM and I have analyzed our battle rhythm and programmed in regular battalion events that are open to everyone. Our HQ has an outstanding (by Iraq FOB standards) social area with firepit, chairs, and tables. We coordinated with one of the MWR DJ's and now every Friday night is the 275th CSSB "Karaoke Lounge and Cigar Night". It has quickly become DJ Jorge's biggest draw on Speicher. We have each staff section rotate responsibility for the setup and theme. That makes for every Friday night to be slightly different. It's amazing how many Soldiers of all ranks I have who love to sing. Everyone who knows me is aware that I like to belt out a tune or two as well. We just haven't cracked the code on getting CSM up to the mike. It's only a matter of time though. His music taste is vastly different than mine so I cringe at the thought of CSM belting out a rendition of "Hotel California" or some other dreadful miscarraige of musical creativity. Oh well, it's all in good fun.

In my microcosms of free time I like to pay particular attention to everything around me. I always carry my camera with me. I don't ever want to miss forever capturing the fascinating, humorous, sullen, dreary or other moments that I encounter. One of my favorite humorous encounters that I love is finding the wit of Joe on the wall of a latrine or port-o-jon. Our years in Iraq could literally be summed up in a compilation of Joe's latrine prose over the course of our time here. It is priceless and never predictable. One of my latest finds was a drawing of a "flux capacitor" (for everyone familiar with the Back to the Future movies) inside a latrine stall. The date on Joe's latrine time machine was set for June 14, 1775 - the birthday of the Army. At first I wondered what Joe was hoping to change by going back to that day. Then I became concerned for Joe. After all, the Army was not founded in Iraq. If this time-traveling Joe had actually activated his time machine he'd probably be in some Bedouin camp of 18th Century Persia. How could we get him back to the future? Then the engineer in me began wondering how he could have activated his time machine in the first place. Didn't the time machine need to travel at precisely 88mph? Ah! Joe thinks of everything. Mexican Night at the DFAC is a guaranteed trip to the latrine. That crafty Joe built a time machine based upon the speed of excremental expulsion. When the rate of Class I download hit 88mph it would trigger the flux capacitor, thereby sending Joe back in time to the date specified. I just hope that there is a toilet precisely at that same location when Joe gets there or it will be very messy. But I'm sure Joe thought of that too. He's a crafty sort.

Battlefield Circulation

"I am a Republican, a black, dyed in the wool Republican, and I never
intend to belong to any other party than the party of freedom and progress" -
Frederick Douglass

The Battalion I command is spread all across the IJOA (Iraqi Joint Operating Area). That means the only way I can keep myself "six inches above the battlefield" is to conduct battlefield circulation. In other words, I have to gear-up and go see my Soldiers. My latest excursion saw my command group taking a jaunt down to Camp Liberty to see my "Deuce Train" Soldiers from Fort Campbell. Some of my "Mad Dawgs" are there as well. CSM, my BN Chaplain, and I loaded up on Blackhawks at Speicher on a blistering hot Monday and left the rest to the flight crew. It wasn't a direct flight, as they rarely are. We made a stop at FOB Warhorse first and then flew on to BIAP (Baghdad International Airport) - home of Sather Air Base. While flying from Warhorse to BIAP we were treated to a stunning aerial view of The Great Ziggurat of Agargoaf, which is a Babylonian ruin dating back thousands of years. Iraq isn't called the "Cradle of Civilization" for no reason. Along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers can be found remnants of many places known for their place in the Old Testament. The birthplace of Abraham can be found at Ur, near modern-day Tallil. Just look out the window of the Blackhawk your riding in next time you are conducting your own battlefield circulation and you are bound to see a ruin along the way.

Camp Liberty is no stranger to me. It is a subsidiary of Victory Base Compound, which is home of US Forces-Iraq Headquarters. The whole complex is sprawling around the runways of BIAP and the scenery changes from Saddam Hussein's palaces to row after row of CHU's and motorpools full of various military hardware. Camp Liberty is the latter. I spent a good many days during "The Surge" working out of Liberty. The place reminds me of Fort Hood, TX in that it seemingly has an unending number of motorpools, HQs, billets, and DFACs. It's a whole lot dirtier though. Everything at Camp Liberty is temporary. It is all a byproduct of the war in Iraq. When the war is over it will all get torn down or handed over to the Iraqis. Only the Soldiers and their equipment will go home. As with the majority of Soldiers based at VBC, my Soldiers are housed at Camp Liberty. It wasn't surprising at all to find that little had changed since 2008, when I last visited the place. Even the DeFleury DFAC and Scorpion Gym were exactly where I left them.

We didn't have much time to accomplish everything on our agenda. Therefore, we lost no time in getting to work. We visited Soldiers at several worksites and got a complete tour of our Battalion operations there. We walked through living areas, which included the exact same one where my CHU was located during the last deployment (one of many I had across the IJOA). I spent some time with the Deuce Train Company Commander and paid a visit to the company HQ. The entire time the temperatures soared above 130. That made for an exhausting day. At the end of it all, CSM and I sat down at the coffee shop adjacent to DeFleury Cafe for a cigar. Just to make the day complete, "Alarm Red" sounded and forced us to scurry into a bunker for a few minutes. I never heard any impact and the "All Clear" sounded soon afterward. We then returned to our cigars and our conversation.

The next day we arose early for breakfast, as we were flying back to Speicher. After some strong Army coffee, bacon, fried eggs, and seedless grapes, we were on our way back to BIAP. The pax terminal at Sather Air Base has been further refined. Now there is paved parking and the port-o-jons have been replaced by nice latrine trailers. It's almost comfortable to wait for your flight. We didn't have to wait long though. Soon we were back on Blackhawks and on our way. The flight pattern was almost identical except for an additional stop at Balad. When we landed at FOB Warhorse the helicopters shut down and the flight crews gave us over an hour to eat lunch. Warhorse is another place I got to know very well during the Surge. It hasn't changed much either. Unfortunately, the "Warhorse National Forest" is no more. It has been replaced by t-walls. The DFAC was practically unchanged though. It still begs to give you the feel of a sports bar back home. The beer is missing though. We spent the majority of our time inside the DFAC, since it was air conditioned. The heat radiating off of all of the concrete in the noontime Iraqi sun was unbearable. Fortunately, we were soon back in the air and on our way to Speicher. We'll return to Liberty soon. There is a lot more battlefield circulation for my command team and me coming up. That's the only way we can effectively lead this awesome Battalion of ours.

Snausages? You shouldn't have!

"Caution is the confidential agent of Selfishness" - Woodrow Wilson

Care packages are a morale booster and something that every Soldier looks forward to. I'd say that's been true since the Revolutionary War and earlier. The contents have changed with the years but, generally, they always bring a taste of home. Early during Operation Iraqi Freedom, care packages frequently came with generic personal care items like baby wipes, soaps, shampoo, etc. As our presence here became more fixed it brought the rise of the AAFES and the PX. This meant Soldiers didn't need the baby wipes anymore and started demanding things we couldn't get at the PX. Care packages gradually transitioned to things like phone cards, favorite coffees, regional food items, Mom's cookies, and other things that Soldiers really wanted and needed. The generic items still get sent but they normally end up on a "common" table where anyone can take whatever they want. Whenever I receive a care package I'm no different in that I keep the good stuff and throw all the other items on the share table. It's a normal routine around here. Bottom line is that we absolutely love getting packages. Just make certain you ask your Soldier what it is we actually want and need here before you pack a bunch of stuff that's just going to end up on the common table. I also recommend you pay attention to what you are packing to ensure it is actually meant for humans. Here's what I mean....


The other day I was walking by the share table in the Command Group and noticed a new package of some type of munchie. The package was yellow, resealable, and had the appearance it may be some type of beef jerky. Naturally, I reached for it. To my dismay and horror, I realized it was a package of Snausages. Really? Snausages? Dog snacks? Should I have been salivating because they were "beef and cheese flavor"? And does a dog care what beef and cheese really tastes like? After all, dogs are known to eat vomit and shit just as quickly as they'll eat a piece of bacon slipped under the table. But I digress. Snausages! WTF? I'm reminded of the urban legend often propogated by liberal, left-wing nut jobs in D.C. around election time that claims Seniors are eating pet food because they can't afford human food. Really? Last time I looked cans of tuna were cheaper than cans of 9-Lives. Damn, I digress once again. Who in the world thought that we are so hard up here that we'll even eat dog treats? You shouldn't have! Really, you shouldn't have. Further research on my part revealed that the "Scoobie Snacks" came in a generic care package from a church group (meaning a whole bunch of Snausages were mailed to Iraq and Afghanistan) and the box had not one, not two, but THREE packages. One just happened to end up in the Command Group. And let me dispel the theory that my mentioning of SFC Butch inspired this. We received the box of Fido bones about the exact same time I met Butch so I hadn't even written about him yet. Nope, this was either a cruel joke or a failure of the quality control back at the care package assembly line. Either way, pay attention to what you are sending. My Battalion HHC might call themselves the "Mad Dawgs" but that doesn't mean they eat dog treats.

We still love care packages. The end is near in Iraq. We'll be out of here by the end of the year. As we conduct our responsible retrograde the services available to us diminish. This includes the PX we've come so used to having nearby. With that in mind, your care packages will take on extra importance in the last few months. Just no dog treats ok? Next time you talk with your Soldier find out what you should be mailing. Don't get creative. Just get your Soldier's list and go check it off. I doubt very seriously Joe will ask for Snausages. Keep it simple, keep it in line with what we need, and keep us happy.