A Line In The Sand
...Live From Operation Iraqi Freedom with the 319th Signal Battalion...A soldier's blog and gallery...

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Spc. Missick
319 Sig Bn, C-Co
APO AE 09327


 

Blog initiated on April 7, 2004 at Camp Virginia, Kuwait
Blog continued April 22, 2004 from Camp Navistar, on the Kuwaiti/Iraqi Border

April 23, 2004
"In Iraq our national security interests and our national values converge. Iraq is truly the test of a generation, for America and for our role in the world. Faced with similar challenges, previous generations of Americans have passed such tests with honor. It is now our turn to demonstrate that our power, ennobled by our principles, is the greatest force for good on earth today. Iraq's transformation into a secure democracy and a force for freedom in the greater Middle East is the calling of our age. We can succeed. We must succeed." - Senator John McCain
I felt this was a great quote to start todays blog off with
The wind rages and the sky still threatens us with late spring showers and imminent sand storms. The preparation has continued in our efforts to take over the signal mission here. Driving to the other site, just across the freeway that leads over the border, two arches reminiscent of the San Ysidro crossing in San Diego lay only meters before me. The flags are Kuwaiti and the guard posts and soldiers that protect the border from terrorists seeking to disrupt operations for us here, remind me how thankful I am for the job they do, which allows me to focus on the job I must do. As a signal soldier, I am an expert in signal transmission and radio communication. Establishing an efficient commo network for the Army is an extremely important job for me and for the soldiers that rely on us to get the job done right the first time. There is no room for error, no mistakes that can simply go unnoticed. We are either providing phones for the echelon above corps elements, or we are not. Seeing the tired soldiers and the ones eager to reach there destinations, sprawled out on cots trying to catch up on sleep or playing a game of basketball to relieve some stress, I am even more dedicated to the job at hand. The official handover takes place soon and then this is our small elements show. I know we'll do the job well, we haven't failed yet.

April 22, 2004
Our convoy arrived at our new basecamp on the Iraqi border shortly before a major sandstorm rolled in like a morning fog that blocks the sun and leaves visibility so small that only a few feet in front of you it becomes hard to recognize the objects or the persons standing there. We knew it was coming, the sky looked similar to those familiar images of Southern California during the majors fires of 2003. Everything was orange and brown and once the wind came to welcome us to our new location, the climatic metaphor for the chaos just meters away was all too appropriate. Like Camp Virginia, our new camp is relatively secure. We are able to go to the chow hall and use the recreation facilities with few worries of attacks, but the atmosphere of this base is much different. With rumors of the mortar attacks that frightened but did not injur anyone from the group we are replacing, and the eyewitness accounts of the gunfight that took place at the gates of the border several weeks ago, everything seems much more serious. At the same time, there is a much more relaxed atmosphere when it comes to the areas of garrison military life we are used to. Back home, uniformity is the crux of military appearance, but here in the desert, you make do with what you have. No two military vehicles look alike as each is a hodgepodge of lumber and steel used for vehicle reinforcements, and positionings for the crew serve weapons such as the M249 and M60 machine guns, and the beast of all gun truck crew serve weapons, the 50 calliber machine gun. Vehicles regularly pull into be serviced that have faced the improvised explosive devices (IED's) that litter the highways, and other damage from small arms fire inflicted from the innumerable AK47's in Iraq. I am still very far away from the fury of the Baghdad streets, but much closer to the solemnity of this war.

April 19, 2004
Today, I found out that Camp Virginia will no longer be my home away from home as of Thursday morning. We are moving North, to a position right on the border, to provide a network and computer help desk, as well as increase their telecommunications abilities. The camp I am going to is still relatively safe, but the stories are well known here, that the further north you go from any point in this particular region, the greater the danger. I honestly anticipate no problems, I know that my safety is provided by a power much greater than mine. I have heard that internet access is even more sparse up there, and so I can't wait to check it out and verify. If so, my blogs might be posted less frequently, but the updates will continue to be written on my laptop and uploaded when I have a chance.

April 18, 2004
Let me begin by a simple story that reminded me that no matter how desperate it may seem here from time to time, we are truly lucky to be Americans. Over the course of the last 48 hours, I was required to serve a 27 hour shift with 14 of those hours taking place with the Third Country National guard detail, and the remianing hours covering my shift in our telecommunications system. Early in the day on the 18th, I spoke with a middled aged man from India. A great majority of the foreigners here to work are from India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. desperate economies lead them to look for work elsewhere. it is here in Kuwait that this young man was hoping to get back on his feet. In the evening he work at Subway, and in the daylight hours he worked in a traveling trailor that sold European sandwhiches. On average, he makes $240 a month, of which, he must support himself and his father, mother and two sisters back in India. His father had been injured when he was young while he was working, and this young man was forced to leave school and take care of the family at 13 years old. His story is one which can be told many times over, and in fact is by many of the TCN's here. It reminded me however, as I sat and spoke with him still full from the days breakfast and fully confident that I was in fact saving much more money while I am here than he will make in ten years, that even in a place as close to hell as you can find on this planet, the blessings bestowed on American's are immense. It reminded me of the pride I have in my country, and the honor I have to serve her flag and the well being of her people, here on the other side of the world.

April 13, 2004
It seemed to appear from no where this afternoon, a freak sandstrom with gusts that shook our tent and felt like needles on any exposed skin. Many of us prepared for the typical Kuwaiti sandstorm that can last for days, but fortunately this died after only a few hours. It served as a poignant reminder of the intense weather that is just around the corner. It also served as a reminder of how quickly life can change around here. I was reminded of just how fortunate I am right now, when I heard word this afternoon that one of the units that had been here a few days back had left on Saturday to head north. In transit, they were hit and lost several soldiers. It struck me that these were soldiers I was eating next to just a few days back, men and women who I waited in line behind and in front of at the phone center just to get a few moments of delayed and echoed phone calls with our families back home. It leads me to ask so many personal questions, to evaluate so many things. Why am I here when things are getting so bad up north? How does it seem like I have escaped the worst of the attacks since the end of combat operations, and yet others are still moving up north in droves everyday. Truthfully, I don't know what the next few months brings. I know our mission, and that our tenure here has a date on it that brings me comfort, but the existential questions continue to nag me in the same way they have nagged soldiers of every generation who seem to be "lucky." I chalk it up to a blessing for now and thank God for listening to all your prayers. In the meantime, I'll maintain all military bearing, do my job well and know that whether we are in this location or one that presents even more danger, I have battle buddies I can rely on and divine plan for my life. Those are things all soldiers can take some solace in. On a different note, I want to thank all of you who responded that you ahd seen the site. As I said, I hope this will make it easier to keep in touch with many of you and keep you updated on what life is like. Incidently, our convoy the other day went smoothly and we returned to the base after a very long day.

April 11, 2004
Holidays are always an extremely important time for my family. Growing up, I remember all sorts of mini-rituals that occurred within my household, that fell under the umbrella of the larger, macro-social rituals connected to holidays like Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Easter. Halloween for example, always witnessed my mother preparing a special family recipe of "Dodgers", a donut like pastry that is fried and coated with sugar. Christmas morning could never begin without my father first entering the living room, turining on the Christmas lights and preparing the family for the first perfect moment when we would come out of our bedrooms to explore and enjoy the gifts that awaited us. Easter was no different, with the Easter Baskets, new clothes and a morning spent at church. These rituals are not forgetten when you where the uniform, if anything, they are appreciated even more because you simply do not have them. Even though we may go to those moments in our minds, they are never lived in practice. The days all blend together, none more essential than the one that preceded it or the one that will follow. It doesn't matter what day of the week it is, because you will probably be working. For a military where time is absolutely crucial for soldiers, dates become a different story all together. This morning, on my way to chow, I passed the chapel. It wasn't until I reached the chow hall and saw the handbill advertising a special Easter service that I realized that this was a sacred day, not just another blur of hour hands walking in a sphere. The military has a way, they say, of making a man of you. I wonder if this is necessarily what it is to be a man however, to be so far removed and increasingly desensitized of the life's landmark days and important moments. It is not that there are no longer important moments, it's just that those moments don't involve family and generally involve a relief that a mission was completed without any injuries. These are the moments that become important, the ones that pass and usher ina relief that the day has passed and that perhaps your daydreams are closer to the realities they once were. Forunately, most days are not filled with fear for me here, but fear or at least an extreme sense of caution, does come when certain duties call. I thought today would be one of those days. Another convoy was planned, and I was nervous that the Christian holiday would make some over-zealous anti-American's more eager to act. If they are out there, they will not have the chance to act today with my unit however. The convoy has been postponed, and on yet another rare, cool, drizzly day in Kuwait, I will enjoy some time to myself, and celebrate Easter. Happy Easter Mom, Dad and Matt. I wish I could be there...

April 9, 2004
It was a surprisingly cloudy and drizzly day here in Kuwait. Still getting situated with our site here and our communications set up, I spent a portion of the day, of course the only portion it actually rained, setting up camouflage over the generators. The rest was a typical rigamorale of tasks such as inspecting the equipment and vehicles, and maintaining the communication link.

April 8, 2004
On my camp, as well as most camps over here, there are the duties you perform according to your mission, and duties you perform that are assigned by your chain of command known as details. I was assigned to a detail today, the 13 hour stretch of TCN, or Third Country National. The duties with this detail are essentially to drive around base with the foreign nationals who come to service the generators, clean the innumerable "port-o-johns", work in the chow hall... It was my duty to accompany a small merchant group who had set up a table outside the PX to sell Gameboy games, and imitaion watches and sunglasses. It seems here that there is an endless supply of items that appear legitimate, but on closer inspection are obviously fakes. I spent the day, partially making sure no soldiers stole items from them, and part of the day making sure they were legitimately on post to make sales. It was rather humorous to here the three merchants of Indian origin beconning for customers with aceented phrases like, "I'll hook you up my brother." They used a variety of other phrases in American street jargon that gave the soldiers walking by a smile and made them more willing to stop by and talk and shop. I have noticed that alot of us have confronted many third country nationals in variety of locations and enounters that were less than friendly towards American's, especially individuals in uniforms that had block lettered type of U.S. Army on the chest. It seems that a friendly TCN is extremely inviting and welcoming, and though we are always on constant guard prepared for whatever may happen, it helps put us at a bit more ease. For my assistance with the merchants, they gave me at the end of the day a great Zippo with the Army seal on it...it was a fake of course.

April 7, 2004
The launch of my first ever blog has finally taken place. Over the course of the last few months, it has been very difficult to communicate with many of you back home. Since October, when the activation orders came down and this arduous process began, my life has been the military 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is a situation I had never anticipated as a child. I was never one to have foreseen the military in my future, I was never the kid who emulated his action figures. With that said, the experiences offered have been invaluable in forging discipline and above all patience! The thing I have realized even more than I ever had before, is that it is not so much the things back home that I miss, but the people, all of you, and the memories we have together. Hopefully this site will allow me to keep in touch with many more of you all at once and help me keep you informed of how things are going over here. For the time being, rest assured that my unit and I are fairly safe and secure in Kuwait, supporting the Army's Echelon Above Corps. communication needs. We are providing data and voice communication for the war's architects and "brass", and as a result are placed in the rear of alot of the urban warfare currently occuring just north of us. I am grateful for the security and peace of mind this offers me and my family. As a soldier however, there is always the desire to do that much more, to be that much closer to the line and to help solve the problem. That is not my part at this time however, as we will be serving this mission for some time. I know my job, my specialty as a multi-channel systems transmissions operater/maintainer, and I will do my job with pride in the year ahead as I operate as a cog in the great machine known as the United States Army.

 

 

 

 

© 2004 Missick.com, please request permission to use any images from this site: chris@missick.com This site reflects the opinion of the author and is in no way connected to the US Army, DOD, or any Federal agency

 

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