From: Michael Mabee
Sent: Sunday, October 03, 2004 10:10 PM
Subject: 3 October 2004 FRG Update

3 October 2004
FOB Speicher
Tikrit, Iraq

It has been a long time since I've written. The last letter was August 20, 2004 and a lot has happened since then in the Group and Iraq in general. In mid August, we said goodbye to the original 494th Aerospace Expeditionary Force (AEF) who completed their tour and went home. At the same time, we welcomed in the new 494th AEF who will remain with our Battalion in Mosul until we leave. Down at Speicher, the original 1058th AEF also completed their tour and redeployed and we have a new crew of 1058th AEF running missions. The 44th CSB in Mosul is also leaving, being replaced by the 17th CSB and over the coming months we will start having units rotate in and out as unit tours are completed. The 44th and many of their units arrived in theater in the fall of last year. Seeing soldiers and units finishing their tours is great for morale on one hand, because it gives us all hope that someday we too will be out of here. On the other hand, it is very sad to see people leave who you have worked with and become close to. I'm happy for them going home to their families, but we will certainly miss our brothers and sisters.

On August 29th the platoon from the new 494th Aerospace Expeditionary Force that I rode with on the gun truck mission described in the previous letter was ambushed and one of the airmen was killed and a few others wounded. One of the wounded soldiers was one of the gunners I had ridden with, Airman First Class Sutton. The Colonel and I try very hard to ride with units after they have suffered a casualty so that the troops know their leaders are willing to travel down any road we send them down. On August 31st SGT Boles and I rode with the 494th AEF platoon on a run from Mosul to Tikrit and back. It was the platoon's first mission since the ambush two nights before. I was very happy to see the two gunners I had previously ridden with, Senior Airman Holtmeyer and Airman First Class Sutton. Suttons arm was still heavily bandaged and he did not have to go on the mission, but he insisted. He wanted to be with his platoon. We put A1C Sutton in our Humvee with us. Let me tell you something about bravery. SrA Holtmeyer and A1C Sutton are just two examples. After suffering the horrible loss of their friend, they got back on the same road to do the same dangerous mission. These are just two shinning examples of the bravery among the soldiers and airmen of the 167th CSG that happen every day. These young (and not so young) troops who leave the wire every day to deliver vital supplies to every corner of Iraq are living examples of personal courage. I am in awe of our troops and what they do.

Our mission, luckily, went off without many problems. We left in the evening and were back from our round trip in time for breakfast the next morning. It took about 12 hours on the road to complete this mission. It is exhausting and these soldiers accomplish these dangerous and demanding missions every day. Just doing them once in a while wipes me out; and yet every day these soldiers mount up and move outside the wire for the next mission. I usually don't send posed shots, but one of the attached pictures is of two brave troops: SrA Holtmeyer and A1C Sutton of the mighty 494th AEF. (Pay no attention to the guy in the middle. He's not worthy of the company he keeps.) This picture was taken on August 31st just before we left for our mission.

I'm also sending two other pictures that I think show an interesting contrast of Iraq.  One is a picture I snapped over Mosul from a Blackhawk. Mosul is the third largest city in Iraq (after Baghdad and Basrah), with a population of over 1.7 million. It is also a cultural center with many colleges as well as an area rich in history. Jonah is buried here (the guy that was swallowed by the whale in the Bible) and also the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh is located around Mosul.

The other picture is of a Bedouin tent in north-central Iraq. A large family lives in this tent and lives by herding sheep. Note the satellite dish. They have a dirt floor, but do have a TV. In the many different areas of Iraq, you meet people of various religious and ethnic backgrounds and see people in cites, as well as tents. You see everything from barren desert to mountains to fertile river valleys with palm trees and lush vegetation. Iraq is a very diverse country in both people and landscape. But all that being said, Iraq is not on my top ten list of retirement spots. I will herd my sheep on Long Island, thank you.

On September 1st SGT Boles and I rode to Arbil with the 24th Quartermaster Company to deliver supplies. Arbil (spelled many different ways depending on which map you are looking at - sometimes spelled Erbil) is a very nice city in northeastern Iraq. By the looks of it, you would not think that there was a war going on in the country. The city is predominantly Kurdish with a small population of Christians also. There is a traffic circle that loops around the city and it is well lit at night. Arbil is a very beautiful city, seemingly untouched by the devilment going on in the rest of the country. (I always wanted to use the word "devilment" in a sentence.) Some of the cities in northern Iraq such as Arbil, Dohuk and Zakho seem to have thriving economies, the usual city hustle and bustle and are relatively quiet in terms of enemy activity. In Arbil, we actually saw beer signs. This drew some attention since we are only allowed to drink non-alcoholic "near beer". Did I ever tell you about near beer? You can drink it all night without catching a buzz, but the next day you wake up with a hangover. Life is just not fair. The secret is to find a brand you like. The Colonel drinks Bitburger. I personally prefer St. Pauli Girl. The worst one is called "Three Horse." I won't say what it tastes like, but let's just say that the name is very appropriate. Enough said.

Anyway, after getting a little lost in downtown Arbil, we found the base and dropped off our supplies and turned around to go back to Mosul. It was a night convoy, so we didn't get to really enjoy the northern Iraq scenery. About 45 minutes into the drive, a donkey walked out into the road in front of our Humvee. SGT Boles slammed on the brakes, everything in the vehicle went flying, but we avoided hitting a very dumb and unconcerned donkey. He didn't miss a beat and just kept lumbering across the road. The joke among the troops was that we almost got a piece of ass on the way back from Arbil.

In addition to the Arbil and Mosul to Tikrit runs, we did other missions this month to Mosul (several locations), Balad, Samarra, Zakho, Habur Gate, Tikrit (several locations), Qayyarah, and a town that nobody has ever heard of and is not on any map - Azadi. After the fall of Saddam's regime and the collapse of the Iraqi military, many former military bases became housing for people. The Bedouins now occupy a former Republican Guard base in Tikrit that we do humanitarian missions to, and in the case of Azadi, a village of ethnic Kurds moved in when the Army disappeared. I don't think they had seen much of the Americans in Azadi. When we pulled in with our Humvees into a large (empty) concrete pad in the town, the people all came over to greet us. The kids (as usual) came running. The adults also came walking over in small groups. We had with us on this mission a Turkish gentleman who spoke a little Kurdish and a little Arabic. Between the three languages he was able to translate for us in a fourth language - English. Why the heck did I take French in college? The army has never once sent me to Paris or Montreal. Anyway, we were introduced to the mayor of the village who welcomed us and told us we were welcome in the village anytime. The people were extremely friendly and like most Kurdish people we have met, genuinely like the Americans. It's a nice break from down south where this generally is less true. After a nice visit and finding the information we were looking for about the area, we headed back toward Mosul.

On the night of September 20th we executed our own convoy escort mission. Usually, it is our truck companies that do these missions, but it is important that sometimes we test the systems and techniques to make sure that the soldiers on the road everyday are getting the right instructions and tools to do their job. In other words, before we put out an order that affects the way our convoys will do things, sometimes it is prudent for our Group Headquarters to test it out first. Being a convoy commander on a large convoy consisting of both military and civilian trucks is one of the two hardest jobs over here. The other is gunner on a gun truck. After leading a large convoy from Tikrit to Mosul that night, I have a renewed respect for the job of our convoy commanders. As many times as I had been down these roads during the day, trying to find your way around them at night is stressful. (Note my clever use of the literary technique of understatement there.) Landmarks that you usually see are not there. Intersections look different. On some turns, you just have to hold your breath and trust your GPS (Global Positioning System) and land navigation skills. When you are in the lead truck, you can't just follow the leader. You have to figure out the turns yourself and if you take a wrong turn with 20 or thirty tractor trailers behind you, it can get ugly. We accomplished the mission and thanks to our crew of four gun trucks - two from HHC 167th and two from the 1/368th CTC Platoon, it went smoothly.

We went on two missions to Samarra with the 66th Truck Company, the 498th Truck Company and the 1019th Quartermaster Company during September. These were two very long missions in which the 167th Soldiers worked side by side with the First Infantry Division engineers to fortify some positions. Our soldiers supplied many truckloads of materials and soldiers and equipment to help build the fortifications. On one of the missions, SGT Boles, PFC McClure and I got stuck unexpectedly spending the night with soldiers from the 66th and 498th in a very Spartan forward operating base. We slept outside our Humvee on cots. During the night we were visited by a few local dogs. One tried to crawl into McClure's sleeping bag with him. PFC McClure was not amused. We heard a lot of gunfire outside the FOB and outgoing indirect fire. This really makes it hard to sleep. As sick as we might be of the chow hall at Speicher sometimes, the chow hall at this FOB made us really appreciate what we have. It's a good thing we got that food for free. Otherwise, I would have complained to the Maître d'hôtel. (There, I finally got to use my Franch.) The remote FOBs frequently have very austere chow halls. Austere is a really delicate way to put it.

Getting stuck places just goes with the territory over here. A few days ago we flew to Balad by helicopter for a conference. We arrived at the tarmac last night at about 7:00 p.m. for an 8:00 p.m. flight back to Speicher. We did actually get on the helicopter at around 8:30 p.m., and then a few minutes later got back off and waited on the tarmac until about midnight when our flight was ultimately cancelled. You have a choice any combination of your ruck-sack, body armor or helmet to use as a pillow when trying to catch a nap on the flight line. Soldiers are pretty creative about arranging their equipment in such a way that you can actually be fairly comfortable. The bugs were nasty. I was the only one who had DEET (the military's nuclear strength bug cream) so I made lots of friends. One of the young troops from the First Infantry Division had a laptop and kicked my rear in a video game. All in all, a very pleasant evening in Iraq. We finally got a flight out at 7:00 a.m. this morning and were back at Speicher in time for breakfast.

So whenever you travel in Iraq, my friend, my advice is to pack enough stuff for a few extra days. You never know where you may end up spending the night. Also, letting wild dogs into your sleeping bag is probably not a good idea. Oh, yeah - bring your bug cream. You will be very popular indeed.

Mike
"Granite 7"

Michael Mabee
Command Sergeant Major
167th Corps Support Group
Tikrit, Iraq