My real life War story!

[hopeless87]

I'm finally getting around to starting this thread. After the thread "My real love story" gained so many pm's I figured a few people would be interested to read my true life account of my 7 year military career. Enjoy and keep the PM's coming. =)

New soldiers to any unit have to make sure their make a good impression and as a new member of the illustrious 101 aviation regiment I wanted to be only the very best. I had been with this group of fellow soldiers for a little over 6 months and although I went to "Advanced individual training" with quite a few of them I still felt very out of place. Often my normal morning "post PT" routine consisted of showering in the barrack's communal shower and ironing my uniform for the day's first formation. This morning though September 11th, 2001, as I stood in my 12 by 12 barracks room over the steaming iron in front of my small television tuned into the nations news for an event anything but ordinary.

"An airplane has just struck the world trade center in New York" the announcer said. In my grand naivity I chuckled and shook my head. "Who would be so stupid as to crash into a building?" I said to myself... and then I looked up to see live footage of yet another plane striking yet another tower. "Ooohh..... oohh....... crap." The barracks bursted alive with murmuring and dashes to the pay phones outside. I calmly finished my preparations and made my way out to what would be an interesting formation... but there was to be none. Instead, this day, we all reported directly to our respective sections and sat silently awaiting any deployment dates.

My shop was on the airfield of Fort Campbell Kentucky. As an electronic ordanance technician I was cross training with a sister MOS working with different components off of the AH-64 Apache (longbow) attack helicopter. As a lower enlisted soldier it was my job to prepare the test facility for movement and run diagnostics on navigation, targeting and communication electronic sub-components. It was a cush position with the United States Army that required 12 months of school house training, a 110+ general technical score and a secret security clearance. Of all those prerequisites nothing could ever prepare a young soldier for the anxiety of impending war.

It was clear on the faces of my fellow soldiers that we were all thinking the same thing, that it wasn't a matter of if, only when, we would ship out. We stared at the MLRS rocket systems now deployed to the far corners of our usually mundane air strip in silence. Even in the open air outside of out mobile electronics shops was thick with tension. The world was holding breath and indeed felt like it was mere moments from passing out. The following days maintained this suspense for weeks, then months. The rumors abounded as unit after unit received marching orders and made their way off of our air-strip. Finally after 9 months of training and preparations began to slow down we heard the truth and right from our commander's own mouth. We had orders and we would be wheels up early march 2003.

A sense of relief came second to dread. My attempts to calm myself with thoughts of only being a technician and never joining the charge into the "Saving private Ryan" type action were made impotent to the idea that the maintenance shops were an extremely critical target, and "they" knew that. It was called the Missile net, that prime area too far away for ground troops to invade but close enough for short range ballistics and that is where I would soon be sleeping.

With my mind a blur I packed all of my belongings into my duffel bags and my ruck sack, trying to bring even things I felt would be useless in the arid deserts of Iraq like a playstation and game boy. The day was soon march 2nd and it was the evening that found me stuffed into a retired boeng 747 on my way to hell on earth. The flight to the transition hub in Kuwait was 16 hours with a small layover in Germany, plenty of time to wet myself and vomit if my body seen fit. Luckily, an angel appeared on the flight with a blessing of sleeping pills on a tray. I swallowed it and gripped the armrests tightly. Slowly I began to drift off as the plane took flight knowing fully well that when I awoken the real nightmare would begin.

[hopeless87]

First off, sorry for not updating this in so long. Let me continue...

Our first few weeks in Kuwait were fairly uneventful. This was to be about a month before the official beginning of the war and so we weren't feeling the highest of anxieties. We stayed in Camp Udairi in large cloth tents housing about 60 people in open quarters. Since the camp was still in its formative stages we didn't have the luxury of cots and had to sleep in our sleeping bags on the wooden floors for about 4 weeks. It took some time to get used to the temprature but we made due with swamp coolers whenever possible. It seemed the only fully air-conditioned buildings were the Dining facility and the troop store.

Life went on as we got used to the new environment and mindset. Being ever vigilant became a way of life (or death) and so it soon came naturally. We never left our weapons out of arms reach. My trusty M16-A2 rifle and 4 full magazines were kept clean and mission ready even though I knew my chances of combat were low. During the day our routine seemed resemble what it was "Back home." There were the normal motor-pool inspections and company politics but now with a refreshing sense of lack-luster. I guess it made no sense to keep everything dress-right-dress in the desert and so it was that in this pre-storm calm our leadership took an opportunity to take it easy.

My mission in the desert was that of an electronics tech and I so loved my job. There's no explaining how gratifying it is to have one of the few positions that required such high regard from my chain of command. Our test facility was mobile but fully equipped with Air conditioning and power outlets. Our generators kept us cool and entertained in the arid desert heat and away from the dreadful sand storms. Oh, the sand storms. Ever seen that scene in the mummy where the wall of sand is chasing a pilot? Yeah, I've seen that in real life. There's nothing worse than the feeling of your entire respiratory system becoming more lined with sand with every breath. Not beach sand mind you, only the stuff light enough to fly. Think baking flour.

My platoon did our best to keep spirits high, knowing that people have had it much worse. We spent the days waiting for word about our inevitable convoy into Iraq. Before that word came though, the war started. We knew about a week in advance to watch the skies for the volley of hell fire and on that night we were not disappointed. With the sight of twinkling lights over-head we knew that the engagement had begun and soon we would have to get serious about staying alive.

Soon every one and everything was mentally evaluated for threat levels. Local people served as employees delivering food and supplies to our camp. I'm sure they were just as nervous around us as we were them. Maybe more so considering.. well.. we all had guns. For a few months I stopped eating in the dining facility because the risk was too big. "what do you mean you won't go to the D-fac?" a fellow soldier asked. "Think about it," I responded "you have soldiers of every rank and file in the same building at the same times every day, there's only one entrance and a few small exits. That place is a prime target."

It wasn't long before a few other reluctant souls joined me, making due with field rations in our tent.

Stories of action on and near our base began to trickle through the ranks. A local man drove his pick-up truck through a crowd of soldiers waiting to enter the store. A few soldiers were harmed and the man was pulled from his vehicle and beaten severely. If not for one of the soldiers in my platoon he assuredly would have been killed on the spot. Another story, just to the east at Camp New York, an American soldier of Arabic decent tosses a grenade into a command post killing 3 or 4. A Kiowa helicopter, light and agile for recon and precision strikes, arrives at our base shredded with small arms fire. It sat on the airfield for a few days and everyone had a chance to see it for themselves. I can only hope that the pilots were ok.

A story told to me by my roommate who was a chinook mechanic: One of the birds came in with a hole in the roof. Apperently, it had been flying over Iraq when an insurgent fired an RPG at it. Luckily, the RPG was a dud but even more miraculously it had flown into the open rear hatch, through a 12" square patch plate of super thin metal and through the twin rotor blades without detonating. All my roommate had to do was replace the patch-plate and the bird was back in the air the next day.

Soon I was assigned to supply convoys because we didn't have a lot of repairs to do in the shop. We would travel about an hour north west to one of Sadam Hussien's former palaces which was now occupied by soldiers and merchants. There was even a few resturants there, like a Chili's!! I would use this as an opportunity to shop at the considerably large post exchange and buy new CD's to listen to. The price for this trip, though, was the danger of road-side bombs hitting the convoy.

The days went on like this for about 3 months before we got our orders to move up north. Our destination would be Forward Operating Base Al-Qayyarah West near the Turkish border. I can still remember the look of the Kuwait/Iraq border, crossing it feeling akin to a rollercoaster reaching the top of a large drop. Should I hold my breath and wait for the rush? It didn't matter. We were entering hells kitchen and I was only taking orders.

[hopeless87]

A picture, actually from my second tour but I looked roughly the same.

[hopeless87]

Our platoon had been split in half, one group of which left for Iraq a month earlier than the rest. After the convoy we found ourselves in a decently developed field operation base (aka: FOB, aka: outpost). Camp Q-west, as it had been affectionatly known was a former air base situated 30 minutes west of the major FOB Mosul in northern Iraq. My platoon of roughly 26 men made a home out of an abandoned battery shop. It was a white brick structure with two large rooms which became the major living areas like two an indoor shanty towns. Each of the large rooms housed 5-6 soldiers, typically the lower enlisted. Lining one hallway were 3 smaller rooms, quickly procured by the upper enlisted. I, on the other hand, was desperate for any sense of privacy and tried to make due with a cleaned out broom closet. It wasn't much but it was good enough for me.

The building was run off of a generator which was regularly put to the test. On this outpost ground assaults were non-existent and entry and exits were stiffly regulated. Of all the places to be in Iraq I would struggle to find a safer nights sleep. One particular thing I could say about our new desert dwelling is that it was drab. The buildings were all subdued gray or blue and ofcourse the sand was nothing of dramatic flair. I'm sure it seems silly, a war trained veteran griping about the lack of pizzazz; however, you'd be surprised what you miss when you're so far from anything.

The sand was a constant reminder of just how alien the place was to us. Having little paved road and absolutely no grass gave the earth plenty of fodder to fill the air. As night would come our greatest fear was a midnight dust storm. Our meager living conditions gave little promise against threat, lacking windows and doors. That's even if we could get to sleep. It had been 7 months since I slept in an actual bed. The days heat would soak into the hard stone walls and keep the inside temperature swelting. A few of us found dragging our cots onto the roof a much better sleeping arrangement. My only fond memories from Iraq are staring up at the open starry sky from my cot.

Over the course of the upcoming months there weren't a lot of attacks. A few rockets would get fired onto the base every now and then. Maybe there would be a disturbance at the gate, but all in all my participation in the war could be considered tame. The biggest threat we had were the rare mortar storms. The mortars hit the ground with an alarming thud. The complete randomness of the explosions made for a particularly helpless feeling. At one time I remember becoming so numb to the idea of being hit by one, sitting on top of my truck just enjoying the lights. My way of thinking became "If I'm still alive enough to be afraid then I'm fine."

(Writers note: Tired, will try to complete tomorrow)

[S1lentCooki3]

Wow that's one great story, I hope you tell us the end of your story I'm looking forward too the end. I'm suprised you can remember it all I'd never be able too remember all that. Also if you have seen people Die and discussing about this must be hard for you, good on you man. Are you still in the army or have you retired or quit now? I hope you haven't retired or quit you seem like a trustworthy and good serving soldier in the army.

[hopeless87]

At 8/20/13 09:19 AM, S1lentCooki3 wrote: Wow that's one great story, I hope you tell us the end of your story I'm looking forward too the end. I'm suprised you can remember it all I'd never be able too remember all that. Also if you have seen people Die and discussing about this must be hard for you, good on you man. Are you still in the army or have you retired or quit now? I hope you haven't retired or quit you seem like a trustworthy and good serving soldier in the army.

I appreciate the feedback =) I still have plenty to write but life has been so hectic. Planning a move from California to Washington and things aren't going perfectly. I apologize for the long wait between posts. I want to answer your questions but it would be spoilers. I will say that anyone looking for a story about the gore of war will be very disappointed. Like I wrote, I was never in close combat, although there was one particular close call on a convoy during my second tour...

[S1lentCooki3]

Your welcome man. Also yeah my life hectic too so you're not the only one with a very hectic life. Ok I'm looking forward too the end now. I don't see why you couldn't tell me some spoilers nobody else is actually looking at this thread anymore apart from me, Lol.

[hopeless87]

At 8/21/13 11:32 AM, S1lentCooki3 wrote: Your welcome man. Also yeah my life hectic too so you're not the only one with a very hectic life. Ok I'm looking forward too the end now. I don't see why you couldn't tell me some spoilers nobody else is actually looking at this thread anymore apart from me, Lol.

Finally settled into Washington after 2 of the most emotionally draining months of my life. If anyone is still interested in the story let me know and I'll pick it back up. I hate to think that I'm just taking up space on the forum and no one is actually following along.