PHOTO BY SPC. SETH PERRY Soldiers deliver three truckloads of medical supplies to Kirkuk General Hospital. Sgt. 1st Class Austin Brown unloads one of the trucks.

Welcome relief

Soldiers happily see
a decline in attacks after
previous week's peak

The difference in enemy activity from last week to this week was like night and day. After last week's peak in violence, this week has been a welcome relief.

Nov. 3, 1110 hours » A rocket launch is heard south of the patrol base.

After a few seconds there was no impact explosion. We dispatched a patrol to try to determine where the rocket landed. When the patrol arrived on the scene, there were police already searching. I guess the training is really paying off.

Nov. 5, 1300 hours » We are doing something that most of the soldiers enjoy: giving to the community.

We arrived at Kirkuk General Hospital with three truckloads of medical supplies.

Led by the battalion surgeon, the company commander and the soldiers of 3rd Platoon delivered the much-needed supplies. The hospitals here are not stocked nearly as well as the ones you and I are used to. They are understaffed and just as busy as any hospital in America.

We were welcomed with open arms by the hospital administrator and a crew of young men to help unload them.

We are planning a similar drop to the pediatric hospital next week.

As we close out the week, I'm asking everyone who reads this article to say a prayer for all of our service men and women; especially those poised on the outskirts of Fallujah. It's imperative that we retake this city if we're going to achieve our overall goal.

Oh, yeah, happy birthday, Mom.

God bless and aloha.

COURTESY PHOTO BY SPC. SETH PERRY Sgt. Aldo Leiva from Queens, N.Y., 1st Lt. Cory Critchley from Rutland, Mass., and Spc. Michael Messinger from Darington, Wash., stand together in Kirkuk, Iraq.

Troops see results
in Kirkuk cleanup

Meet three of the soldiers from the Battalion Communications Platoon: Sgt. Aldo Leiva from Queens, N.Y., 1st Lt. Cory Critchley from Rutland, Mass., and Spc. Michael Messinger from Darington, Wash.

The normal mission of the communications platoon is to provide assets for the battalion, including radios and the Internet. Here in Iraq they have been given the additional task of supervising reconstruction projects throughout the city of Kirkuk. So far the battalion has used more than $6 million to rebuild the infrastructure of the city.

I asked all three what their feelings were when they found out they were being deployed. They all acknowledged a certain bit of uncertainty. None was sure exactly what he would be doing for the battalion.

Now that they've been here a while, Leiva said, "things have turned out much better than I thought they would.

"When you're preparing for combat, you only know what you have read or seen. I didn't realize there would be so many lulls."

Messinger said, "I've been able to learn so much more about my job. I've also noticed the police doing a much better job. I am definitely more comfortable than when I first got here."

I asked Critchley what he thought were the three projects that have had the largest impact on the city. He said, "clean up, police/Iraqi National Guard, and mosques."

He went on to say, "By using a portion of the money and devoting it to city clean up, we've been able to employ a large amount of people. With jobs so scarce, the poor are making some money. It keeps them from working for the bad guys, and the city looks so much better than when we got here.

"The police/ING projects have armed and trained these civil citizens to protect themselves and the public, and the mosque projects are ones that the public can physically see."

I asked what the craziest thing that has happened so far was. All three said it was when the ammunition supply bunker on the airbase caught fire.

"There were a few 500-pound bombs that exploded that night. At first we didn't know whether we were getting attacked or not," Critchley said.

All three said they were surprised at how children reacted to the soldiers in the city. "They seem to come out of everywhere smiling and waving. I just didn't expect that," Leiva said.

The three soldiers send a warm hello to their families and friends back home. Critchley wanted to say a special hello to his wife, 1st Lt. Katrina Critchley in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Leiva said, "Hello to my wife, Myesha, in Hawaii, you're my one and only."

Messinger sent a special hello to George and Diane Nations and their son Justin in Sandy Beach.