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A Soldier’s Story First Sgt. Robert Jennings |
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Troops uncover
weapons of enemy
The third week in September began as the second week ended -- more roadside bombs. Throughout the week, there have been numerous attacks across Iraq using this tactic. We have had some success in this area identifying them prior to them exploding. It seems the enemy is changing his tactic, and we have been able to keep up so far.
16 Sept. 1100 hours » We just received some intelligence from an informant about a weapons cache in a small village on the edge of Kirkuk. Soldiers from 1st Platoon were assembled, along with the commander and me, and we moved to the suspected location.
I conducted a search of the house while Staff Sgt. Eric Guffey, Russell Springs, Ky., and Staff Sgt. Huddleston, Sallisaw, Okla., conducted a search in the crop field with mine detectors. In the house we found an AK-47 and ammunition.
I was called outside where the soldiers were working with the mine detectors. They dug up artillery fuses, mortar fuses, grenades and fuses, sniper ammunition, and some possible bomb-making materials.
The search then extended into the cow pen, where we found two more AK-47s and some ammunition. The chicken coop was the final area to search. More rifle ammunition and bandoleers were found.
These are the steps our enemy takes to hide his weapons and materials for bombs. We were able to remove one more problem off the street, and put his three brothers on the run.
18 Sept. 1000 hours >> A report comes over the radio; the Iraqi National Guard has discovered a roadside bomb south of our patrol base. They have already blocked the streets and called the bomb squad. I guess the training we have been doing with them is paying off.
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18 Sept. 1150 hours >> The windows just rattled -- that means an explosion was not too far away. In the radio room, reports of an explosion are coming in over the 'Net. The interpreters call the police station to get a report. It seems that a vehicle has exploded at the National Guard recruiting building. Initial reports are 10 killed and unknown wounded.
This is another tactic of our cowardly enemy. Civilians trying to make a difference in their country are targeted and killed. These are people that were trying to enlist in the National Guard so they can try to be a part of their country's future.
Updated casualty count: 20 killed, 84 wounded, five in critical condition. It doesn't matter what nationality, religion, or belief they are -- say a prayer for their families.
God bless and aloha.
Specialist pulls
repeat duty in Iraq
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Torres said when he first got to Hawaii last October, he found out he was going to Iraq. He had just returned from Iraq in August 2003 when he was stationed at Fort Carson.
"I was really looking forward to coming to Hawaii. My wife was pregnant with our first child," he said. "I knew units from Hawaii were going to Iraq and Afghanistan, I just didn't know which unit I would end up in."
I asked Torres what has been the most stressful thing he has to deal with in Iraq: "Not being at home helping my wife take care of my son."
He said, however, that he had the "best time I've had because I was able to go on R&R to see my new son. My mother and a few in-laws came to visit."
I asked him what the strangest thing he's seen in Iraq was: "The way of life. When we were preparing to deploy, we got all these briefings on how the people here were going to act and react. Most people here aren't anything like that.
"It seems the Muslims here seem so much different because of their outlook on life itself."
He finished his interview by saying "hi" to all his family and friends in Colorado and Connecticut, and especially to his wife, Keilymeralis, and his son, Alexander: "I love you, sweetie. I'll be home soon."