Schofield troops dispute
media’s portrayal of IraqReturning soldiers contradict
reports that criticized the war
Army Spec. Matthew Nelsen, 21, got his first taste of combat fighting as a member of the 101st Airborne Division in Iraq.
"You learned to stay calm," said Nelsen, who was among 107 soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division who volunteered to fight and were sent to Iraq as "casualty replacements" or "fillers."
As a team leader with Delta Company, 3rd Battalion, 502nd Infantry, Nelsen said his scariest moments came about May 18 on Saddam Hussein's birthday during a firefight in Mosul.
"We had gotten off patrol and everything was dark," Nelsen told reporters yesterday at Schofield Barracks. "Then the whole town turned into a firefight. We saw tracers (illuminated bullets) for 2 1/2 hours."
Ninety-seven Schofield Barracks soldiers have returned from Iraq and Kuwait, with only 10 still remaining there. Most of those who volunteered stayed in Kuwait and Iraq for nearly two months before coming back.
Capt. Christopher Owen, a Desert Storm veteran, was attached to the 101st Airborne Division's 2nd Battalion, 187th Infantry, as battle captain in the battalion's tactical operations center.
He said the difference between the two Persian Gulf wars was the battlefield.
"The first Gulf War was in the open desert," Owen, 31, said. "This time, we were in an urban environment."
Despite some media reports to the contrary, Owen said "thousands of people were cheering and clapping and were passing out stuff like water as we rolled into the towns. It was like what I saw in those World War II movies."
Owen believes the majority of the people in Iraq support what the United States has done.
"The American people cannot comprehend or understand what happened there," Owen said of the current critical stories of the situation in Iraq.
Staff Sgt. Donald Workman, who was assigned to the 101st Division's 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry, said his combat experience "definitely made me appreciate America and what we have."
Chief Warrant Officer Christopher Fedor, an OH-58D Kiowa helicopter scout pilot with 101st Division's C Troop, 2nd Battalion, 17th Calvary, said he was finally able to see the fruits of 12 years of training.
"Now I know how I will react in a combat environment," said Fedor, 30. "I know what it is like to eat MREs for a month ... to shower out of a canteen cup."
The Schofield Barracks soldiers who met with the media said they never encountered any regular soldiers of Saddam's army.
"We saw piles of uniforms, helmets and weapons which they left in piles as they fled," Fedor said.
Workman, a mortars section sergeant, added: "We never saw anyone in the day.
"It was basically a guerrilla war," said Workman, 30. "There were a lot of people taking potshots at you at night. You could hear it, but you didn't know where it was coming from. Uniformed soldiers? We just didn't see them."
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