PHOTO COURTESY OF SPC. SEAN KIMMONS Spc. Edmund Gilo of Maui walks a patrol with Iraqi police. Enemies continue to threaten coalition forces in the area daily.

Children take focus
of efforts to rebuild

This has been another week of reconstruction projects for Alpha Company.

We have spent a large portion of our time in the poorer outlying villages and the new tent village. Along with contractors, we have made some additional assessments for improving these areas.

We have tried to scale back our efforts when it comes to municipalities, and we are working very hard with the government agencies that are responsible for these areas. We have tried to focus our energy on schools and youth centers.

My personal thoughts on changing the mindset of the people in Iraq is that time and effort must be invested in the children.

In my observations, there are three different types of adults here in Iraq. The first are the enemies we battle on a daily basis. They will never accept our presence here, and their sole motivation is to continue attacking coalition forces and people trying to develop this country.

They continue to try to disrupt the changing Iraq. There is nothing we can do for them except eliminate them from the future Iraq equation.

There are some people here that have come to accept Americans in their country. We understand that they are a little skeptical of us because they have never known the freedoms we are trying to give them. We just try to get these people to tolerate our existence here until they can enjoy the benefits of true freedom.

Then there are the majority of the people we deal with every day. They have welcomed us with open arms and are eager to continue the democratic process.

That is why I think the best investment we can make here is in the children. We are not going to change too many adult minds or ways of thinking. We just need to continue dealing with what we have and get to the children. They are the future of this country, and in order for the process to continue after we leave, we have to convince them.

1 Sep 1700 hours >> I was just informed that a soldier in one of our sister battalions was killed in a roadside bomb ambush. Immediately, thoughts of our own fallen soldiers rushed through my head. I can only pray for his family and the soldiers of that company. I know exactly what they are feeling.

4 Sep 04 1603 hours >> Explosion south of the patrol base; reports start coming in from the observation posts. Police were dispatched, but reports came to us before they arrived on the scene. A vehicle packed with explosives exploded outside the police academy.

First casualty report: six killed, eight wounded.

Second casualty report: 10 killed, 13 wounded.

Final casualty report: 12 police officers killed, 25 police officers injured, two civilians injured.

This has been one of the major concerns in Kirkuk over the last few months. We have been hunting this ruthless enemy in every nook and cranny of the city. Yet it seems he is driving right down the road with a car packed full of explosives.

Some people I've spoken to back in the states ask why we don't check all the cars. I try to explain that we are dealing with a modern Iraq. There are almost 1 million people in this city with more than 100,000 vehicles.

The local Iraqi National Guard units have established checkpoints throughout, but it would be impossible to check everyone.

God bless and aloha.

Impressions change for medic

Spc. Seth Perry

Perry said that when he found out the unit was being deployed to Iraq, he had visions of Desert Storm and the initial invasion for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

He said, "I really thought we would be fighting every day." He continued by saying: "My mind was changed during the five-day convoy from Kuwait. People were waving as we passed. I thought we would be coming into a situation where everyone hated us."

He added: "Now that I've been here a while, I think the majority of the people here still want us around. As for me, I'm ready to go home."

I asked Perry what his most stressful time was in Iraq. He said: "When we first got here, I lived on the air base, working at the medical treatment center. We would be sitting outside at night and a rocket attack would start. These things would come whizzing in and exploding in a different place everyday. You'd just hit the ground and hope it misses."

I asked Perry what the most enjoyable thing he's done in Iraq. He said: "Whenever we go out and mess with the kids. You see the difference you make by the looks on their faces; just a few pieces of candy gets a smile in return." He finished his interview by saying hi to all his family back in Tennessee and his wife, Erin, and her family in Canada. "I love you and I'm looking forward to seeing you again."