15 January 2008

Yeah, it rains in Iraq!



The funny thing about posting a blog...you get to meet new people...some very very good people in this case. For those regular readers, you know Sgt Grumpy and I have known each other for years and we served together in Bosnia (SFOR 14). I've also met other really good people, who for OP SEC reasons, I won't name. Now Grumpy, when you read this, remember if you get hurt, I'm going to kick your ass!
Now, should I continue with my story? Well, I will anyway. What part was I at...I lost track, oh lets say---
Mission Mosoul/Telafar part 10: It's like shoveling sand on the beach Dude!
The more "customers" we talked to in our little operation, the more the Stryker dudes went out and got more. Sometimes they would be looking for one terrorist, and happen to grab someone else...when we looked into it...the terrorist grabbed at random was sometimes more interesting than the guy they were looking for. However, they Iraqis do have a long hatred for some..it's all about tribes and family feuds...hatred that can go on for years.
One day a patrol goes out and starts talking to locals. The standard question was something like: "have you seen any bad guys?"
So one day they're walking through this village and knock on the door to this house...ask the standard question...and the lady points to the house next door and says: "There's a bad guy in there." Further questioning (at the grunt level) revealed that when asked if this guy was the person planting IEDs 15 miles away, the lady said: "yep, that's him...he's bad."
So the Stryker dudes go arrest Abu Oldman and bring him in. Now, I'm not kidding...this guy was older than mud...he was at least 65 years old..half blind, had all kinds of medical problems, walking with a cane, couldn't hear...about ready die any second.
But somehow, everyone thought this guy was walking 15 miles in the night (30 miles round trip) and planting bombs all by himself. After having a "chat" with him, I found out he had accidentally run over his neighbor's sheep 20 years ago and they still hated him for it.
And that's what we had to work with. After a short time, we "popped smoke" (left) and flew back to Mosoul. Just in time for the first "free elections" in Iraq in about 30 years... I still have some of the election ballots from Mosoul. While were were back in Mosoul...we did some things for some "company" that I'll maybe be able to write in my book some day...
Then, the best part is....
to be cont. We were a Mobil Team after all...

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

D, sure hope you don't have to deploy again...keep us posted on how it goes.
It's funny how blogs make the world a smaller place...I'm sure your blog has made a difference in other peoples lives...Ya' never know...who's lookin' I guess.

Take care...if you go.

Grumpy...be safe out there.

Anonymous said...

Yup D, you are headed out tomorrow, but who's watching the calendar? hell no not me.. The 22nd is the big KNOW day right? ok so don't keep us hanging too long...

CI-Roller Dude said...

Hope and others...as soon as I find out, I'll call one of my "sources" and they can pass on the info..since I may not have internet access.
Camp Roberts, CA is more backwards than any Iraqi Army camp-- and I'm not kidding. The richest state in the union and they spend the least amount of money on their National Guard.

CI-Roller Dude...

Ben said...

I don't know how to get you my email or contact info without it going into the public domain, but I'd love to send some pistachios or whatever else you guys need. Had a friend (or three) over there before, and grumpy commented pistachios were good. If you figure out a way, let me know. [The only way this has worked in the past is a blogger enabled comment moderation, I left my email address in a comment, and then they rejected/deleted the comment. If you can do that, let me know (comment here, I've subscribed), and I'll drop my contact info your way.]

Sergeant Grumpy said...

I hope you had a better experience with company people than I have - I was disappointed in the BOS and I am disappointed here.