Guest Post…..

I asked a friend in the Army to write up his view of what’s going on in Iraq….
Here is what he had to say….

BTW— Thanks Brian…. Thanks for your service to our country… thanks for doing the job you do… Thanks for the post… Stay safe!

Have you ever watched the evening news and listened to all the horror stories coming from the Middle East and wondered “Does anything go right there?” Or do you take what your local news broadcasts and absorb it like the absolute truth? Well my friends, let me assure you that their is more to the story than what you get out of that 30 second soundbite. You are probably asking yourself what does this moron know that I don’t? If you will allow me to entertain you for a few minutes I may be able to answer that question.

I am a Pennsylvania National Guard soldier deployed to Iraq for an 12 month rotation and I am halfway through this deployment. I have served 5 years on Active Duty prior to my National Guard status and this is my second deployment since 9/11. My first deployment was a 7 month rotation in Bosnia, a small muslim country in Eastern Europe. I have seen alot of events take place in just a short period of time. I have kept my eyes and ears open and my mouth shut, absorbing my surroundings and learning everything I could. Upon venturing overhere to Iraq, I kept the same focus I had in Bosnia and blocked out as much of the negative coverage of Iraq so I wouldn’t have a predisposed hatred for a country I had yet to step foot in. Allow me to indulge you into what it is really like to be in Iraq and why it is important that we finish the mission.

My unit is stationed in the Al Anbar Province in the northwest region of the country. This area is better known as the “Sunni Triangle”. Most of the violence and deaths that you hear about everyday happen in this very small area. The majority of Iraq has become rather quiet since the official end of the war with only a few minor protests or rallies here and there. It is in the cities Baghdad, Fallujah, and Ar Ramadi that the majority of the insurgency and terrorism is occuring. When we first arrived in country, parts of the Sunni Triangle was like the wild wild west. It was a shock to the system both culturally and humanely. But as soldiers we did not back down or cower to the insurgents in our area. We picked up where our predecessors left off and we began to improve what they left for us. We started clearing out schools that the insurgents were using to make bombs and store weapons and turned them back over to the town/city/province that they belonged to so the children can go back to school. We have repaired water treatment plants and helped repair water and sewage lines in the cities so citizens can bathe properly and use bathroom facilities correctly. We have done all this while still managing to patrol the roads, enforce curfews which by the way has cut down drastically the amount of roadside bombs that we encounter. Also, the US forces are training the Iraqi police in latest techniques of law enforcement and counter terror tactics just as our own S.W.A.T. teams do in our big cities. The new Iraqi Army is training side by side with the US soldiers and since our arrival have begun to take over sectors of their cities to get rid of insurgents. These are just a few humanitarian events that we have accomplished in our short time here.

I have also been privileged to witness history not once but twice. I am talking about the voting of the Iraqi Constitution drafted up by Iraq themselves, not by outside governments. I have also seen Iraqi’s come out in droves to vote in their first FREE elections. During each of these times, the insurgents did not even attempt to strike. In their only chances for shining moments they cowered and did nothing allowing the great citizens of this nation to take that much more control of their destiny. With each passing day the citizens, the police force, and their soldiers grow stronger and stronger both physically and mentally so that they can beat this insurgency with its ever changing face.

But it has not been all victory and triumph. My unit has lost 7 of its members in this struggle to help create a free Iraq. My fellow brethren laid down their lives helping these people to enjoy the same freedoms we have enjoyed for centuries and for that they are forever my heroes. I too, have been injured in my short time here. I am one of the lucky ones for I only took a small pebble sized piece of shrapnel to my nose during a roadside blast. But I do not let that change my perception of this nation nor its people. I do not blame Islam for the behavior of radicals who hide behind religion as a shield. I also do not let events like Abu Ghraib cloud my vision of what is right or wrong. The people of this great nation have also learned not to judge all by the actions of a few. As long as we continue down this road we will help this nation stand on its own two feet once again but stronger than ever. Stronger in the sense that the people will have a voice. Victory can only be achieved when that moment comes, not when every last insurgent is eradicated.

I hope for those of you who have read this post walk away with something learned, that you have a better understanding of what goes on here from a soldier’s perspective.

-To live is to suffer, to survive, well that defines the meaning of life.-

SGT Brian Capozzi
HHC 1-109 IN (M)
Iraq