Homecoming and New Beginnings
So I am back. Not saying much the danger I was in was minimal at best. I used to tell who cared to listen that we received more indirect fire in nights on my old FOB in Diyala Province than we did in the two and half months of my time in a forward base in Iraq. But… danger nonetheless.
First, I have to thank Phil Walter for being a mentor before and a shoulder during this trip. He knows why and we’ll leave it at that. Without his guidance and advice I am certain we aren’t as prepared going in to country. And coming out, I am not as whole as I am.
Second, Iraq is Iraq. I can say that it sucks but that’s largely because the mission was not what many expected (even myself) and we are far from home. But we volunteered, for the most part, to go. Looking back I have no regrets except for some personal mistakes along the way but to go? I’d do it again. To go to where I went? Sure. To meet, work with, and support various components of the Iraqi and Kurdish security apparatus? Absolutely. A little about them.
This is not the Iraqi and Kurdish armies that fled ISIS in 2014. These are the products of training and something else. Vengeance. To avenge their honor and return the land and homes that were robbed from their people and country. For the Yazidis and Christians, who live in Sinjar and throughout Ninawa Province, it was revenge and a chance find dignity in the fight. I have spoken with Christians who joined the Iraqi Army or Kurdish Peshmerga or Zarivani simply because they wanted to take back their homes in places like Hamdaniyah. These stories repeat themselves for the boys of 2014 who became fighting men in 2015 and 2016 from the Ninawa plains, Sinjar mountain, along the west and eastern banks of the Tigris north of Bayji. No matter which way they pray they deserve your respect. They are the ones fighting ISIS in near continuous contact since 2015.
On our efforts there we help them every way we can. I will not spend much time on this subject now but suffice to say under both of the administrations we have brought to bear the might of the United States upon ISIS. Short of throwing divisions of troops at the problem we have done what we can. As dissatisfying as that might be to my comrades… this is the Iraqi and Kurdish fight long before it is ours. We should be honored we can help with the air support, artillery fires, and other combat support roles we play.
There are downsides. We lost a Navy SEAL while I was in country. Shortly after the offensive to take Mosul began we suffered from the sulfur fires. The people along the Tigris near Qayyarah still deal with the tyranny of ISIS in the form of continuously burning oil fires.
There is one story I’ll share at a later time about the girl in the pink shirt. I feel it deserves to be told again.
I’m back home and I’ll still smile and feel comfortable with I plug my cell phone into my charger.
